Press. voanews.com
The
governments of Spain and Brazil on Monday reinforced their commitment to
completing a trade pact between the European Union and South American trade
bloc Mercosur despite protectionist sentiments. On a two-day visit to Brazil,
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said he agreed with Brazilian President
Michel Temer about the need to wrap up a trade deal that has taken more than 15
years to negotiate.
Rajoy
also called for elections as the only way to reach a negotiated solution to the
political crisis in Venezuela, expressing “deep concern” over the volatile
situation in the neighboring country. “We agree that given the degree of
confrontation and the volatility of the situation, a negotiated solution is
needed, and it must inevitably involve giving back to the Venezuelan people
their voice,” he said. Rajoy is heading a large delegation of Spanish
businessmen who are looking for investment opportunities in Brazilian banking,
energy, water and infrastructure sectors.
Spain
backs deal
Brazil is
the third-most important market for Spanish investors, who account for the
second largest stock of foreign investment in the South American nation after
the United States. Spain is one of the strongest backers of an accord to lower
trade barriers between the European Union and Mercosur members Brazil,
Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. Negotiations have been delayed for years by
the reluctance of European farmers and Mercosur manufacturers to face
competition.
“Spain
has always been and will continue to be a firm supporter of the agreement,”
Rajoy said after meeting Temer. “In these moments in which some feel
protectionist temptations, we both agree on the importance of free trade.” Argentine
Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra, who is hoping to clinch the EU-Mercosur deal
by the end of the year, said external reasons would help advance it.
Malcorra
said the retreat of the United States from trade talks had opened a window for
the European Union to become a strong player in multilateral, region-to-region
accords. “Our view is that [the EU-Mercosur accord] is not only an economic
agreement,” she said in Geneva on Monday. “It's more than that, a political
agreement.”