Strategic Challenges in the EU- Brazil Relationship Brussels, 7-8 May 2012 The EU - Mercosur Negotiations: ¿Policy-Based Strategy or Strategy by default? Ramon Torrent University of Barcelona Coordinator of OBREAL Coordinator of the International Chair WTO/Regional Integration 1
1.- The hardware and the software of Political Systems and International Relations: the hardware and the software must be “compatible”; if not, the hardware gets blocked or works only by default . 2
2.- The “European Community plus Member States” tradition and practice of using Trade Negotiations as “Politics by proxy” or “Strategies by default”: Examples in the first half of the 1990s. 3
3.- The launching of negotiations with Latin American countries and blocks in 1994 - 1996. A history in first person of the Mercosur 1995 agreement and the agreement with Mexico in 1997. 4
4.- The “de facto” pause in EU’s bilateral negotiations after P. Lamy’s appointment as EC’s Trade Commissioner in 1999. However, new Negotiations are launched with Mercosur in 1999 and the new negotiations with Chile are finalized in 2002 - 2003. A new explanation in first person. 5
5.- A possibility in 2004 to finalize the EU- Mercosur negotiations. 6
6.- A new EU Trade Policy in October 2006: “Global Europe competing in the world”: a new legitimacy for bilateral/biregional trade negotiations. 7
7.- Does it make sense to continue in 2012 with a pre- crisis 2006 strategy? (the 2010 “Trade, Growth and World Affairs” communication continues to accept “Global Europe” as a reference). Does it make sense to continue with ambitious bilateral/biregional trade negotiations without a coherent policy framework well adapted to present circumstances? 8
8.- DO WE CONTINUE EU – MERCOSUR NEGOTIATIONS SIMPLY BY DEFAULT: BECAUSE THEY WERE LAUNCHED ONE DAY NEARLY 20 YEARS AGO AND/OR BECAUSE IN 2006 WE DECIDED TO LAUNCH A NEW WAVE OF BILATERAL/BIREGIONAL NEGOTIATIONS … AND WE ARE UNABLE TO DESIGN AND IMPLEMENT A COHERENT POLICY ADAPTED TO THE CURRENT CIRCUMSTANCES? 9
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