Asunción, Agencia IP.- The Council of the European Union approved today the signing of the agreement with Mercosur, thereby concluding a stage of negotiations for one of the largest trade agreements in history. The signing will take place on Saturday, January 17, in Asunción, Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez reported.

The European bloc ultimately reached the necessary majority to approve the agreement’s signing, which must now be ratified by the European Parliament and by the congresses of Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay.

The agreement links two blocs representing more than 700 million people, over USD 100 billion in annual trade, and a per capita GDP of USD 34,000, the foreign minister explained in remarks to the media.

The document consists of three chapters: trade, political dialogue, and cooperation. The most contentious point was the trade chapter, with complaints from European agricultural producers about tariff concessions on South American products not subject to the same production standards.

«We have agreed on a balanced agreement that addresses the main interests of the Mercosur countries,» the Foreign Minister stated. Earlier, during his daily agenda, President Santiago Peña said that the agreement is an advantage for Paraguay, whose grain and meat producers have demonstrated competitiveness and high quality.

La entrada Mercosur-EU agreement approved; signing to take place in Asunción on January 17 se publicó primero en .::Agencia IP::..