Argentine president criticizes excessive bureaucracy, cites delay in agreement with the EU and asks for flexibility so that members can sign trade agreements outside the bloc
The president of , , made a series of criticisms during the plenary session of the 67th Summit of the South American bloc, held this Saturday (20), in Foz do Iguaçu (PR). He said that the objectives of the customs union were never achieved and that there is excessive internal bureaucracy, which hindered agreements such as the one with the (EU).
“Mercosur was born with a clear mission to promote trade, increase prosperity, integrate markets and increase the competitiveness of our societies and none of the central objectives were fulfilled,” said Milei. “There is no common market, there is no effective free movement, there is no macroeconomic coordination, there is no real regulatory harmonization, there is no significant increase in internal trade, there is not sufficient openness to the world”, he continued.
Milei also maintained that there is a lot of bureaucracy and internal obstacles. “Flexibility is an asset, not a threat.” He once again advocated that each associated state negotiate with other countries outside the bloc. “Experience shows that when Mercosur tries to advance in a monolithic manner, processes expand and opportunities are lost.”
Milei said that the attempt to reach an agreement with the European Union proves Mercosur’s slowness, as decades of negotiation were not enough to materialize the agreement. “Our countries no longer have 10 years to waste on administrative discussions.” And he argued that the bloc needs a modern, simple and competitive tariff system.
The video was published recently by the Argentine government, with delay. The Brazilian government broadcast live only the speeches of President Luiz Inácio da Silva, president pro tempore of Mercosur until December, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, . It was up to the other countries to keep the records of their respective presidents. Only Paraguay, which assumes the bloc’s Presidency in January for six months, broadcast in real time.
*With information from Estadão Conteúdo
Published by Nícolas Robert
