The president took aim at his own and others in his speech at the Celac-EU Summit, pointing out that he does not share “exacerbated protectionism.”
President Luis Lacalle Pou pointed out against the “exacerbated protectionism” that hinders the opportunities for agreements between countries during his speech at the Summit of Presidents of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) and the European Union (EU); and he called for “working, recovering and strengthening” trust between nations to end 25 years of negotiations and move forward with the trade opening that, as he explained on previous occasions, Uruguay needs.
“Critical Optimism”. This is how Lacalle Pou defined the “spirit” with which he arrived at the meeting with his regional and European peers. In a brief speech that he sought to adapt to the times granted for the interventions -due to the large number of people present that the city of Brussels between the two multilateral organizations—, the president assured that his position is to “advance, as the Anglo-Saxons say, ‘walk the talk’”; that is, to turn words into actions. “It is very difficult for me to explain to my adolescent children that we have spent 25 years coming to terms with this world that has changed so much,” he commented, by way of example. “Enough Talk”he emphasized.
“When I see the leaders of my region, of the Mercosur, and of the European Union with the spirit of agreeing in small steps, it seems to us a good thing in this world that is so interconnected, so fast-paced, where what we have to work on, recover and strengthen is trust”, pointed out Lacalle Pou.
Likewise, the Head of State remarked the Uruguayan opening positionin what seemed like a message not only for the European leaders who are still putting sticks in the wheel regarding the agreement with Mercosur, but also for their own regional partners, who have opposed —and continue with a general refusal— to the bilateral negotiations with Chinese. “We really believe in integration. We understand that many countries protect themselves, what we do not share is exacerbated protectionism”he pointed.
“We have one chance, in this case speaking of our country and as president of it, in this world that requires us to make quick decisions, to make them with the demands of the environment and with the trust between us, between our peoples and with the people who put us in this beautiful challenge that is to govern our countries”, closed Lacalle Pou.
The foreign ministers promised to close the agreement before the end of the year
On another busy day for the president —with meetings that began with the French president Emmanuel Macron and continued with the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, and the president of coffee, Sergio Diaz-Granados— The meeting between foreign ministers also played a leading role due to the commitment reached in it: to work to close the Mercosur-EU agreement before the end of the year, after a quarter of a century of negotiations.
The compromise was reached in the meeting that the ministers of External relationships of Mercosur held with the commissioner of European Union trade, Vladis Dombrovskis; which was evaluated as a good signal in the northern hemisphere block.
According to a statement issued by the European body, the parties “reaffirmed their determination to work for the conclusion of the agreement between the EU and Mercosur by the end of 2023”with the idea of resolving “all pending issues in accordance with the priorities and concerns of each party.”
Source: Ambito
