Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, is in Buenos Aires, Argentina, after visiting Brazil in the past few hours. One of the purposes of the trip to Latin America is the conclusion of trade agreements between the European Union and MERCOSUR, a common market that includes Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay.
The agreement was signed in 2019, but has not yet been ratified by European states and is now in a stalemate situation. President of Eurocamara (Argentine Chamber of Commerce) Giorgio Alliata di Montereale explained that negotiation efforts should be directed immediately towards the ratification of this agreement, otherwise there is a risk of “establishing other partnerships.”
For more than 20 years, the parties have been negotiating this agreement, which today is extremely strategic for Europe, given the geopolitical context and the “raw material shortage.” Ursula von der Leyen will also visit Chile and Mexico in the coming days.