The Future of Mercorsur: What’s at stake for the EU?

The Cologne Institute for Economic Research (IW Köln) and the German Institute for International and Security Affairs – Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP) are kindly inviting you to a jointly organised expert exchange on the on-going negotiations for a new trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur.

The talks encompass the four finding members of Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay) and the EU as part of the overall negotiation for a bi-regional Association Agreement. It shall cover a broad range of issues, including tariffs, rules of origin, IPR, SMEs, technical barriers to trade, etc..

The second round of the trade negotiations at the beginning of October will just have been concluded, providing our experts and debate with new insights and information.

However, negotiations take place while the Latin American regional integration project faces increasing internal political disruptions: Venezuela’s Mercosur membership was suspended in August 2017 in the wake of the ongoing constitutional crisis in this country whilst the political class in Brazil and other countries in the region is unsettled by corruption scandals.

Galina KOLEV, senior economist and trade expert from IW Köln, and Claudia ZILLA, political scientist and head of SWP’s research division “The Americas”, will provide their analyses concerning the economic and political situation in the Mercosur area as well as their views on the trade negotiations themselves.

Date
16 October 2017

Time
11.00 -13.00 h
Registration from 10.45 h

Venue
Rue Marie de Bourgogne 58, 2nd floor
1000 Brussels