Lisbon, Feb. 10, 2021 (Lusa) – Portugal’s Secretary of State for Internationalisation, Eurico Brilhante Dias, on Wednesday defended the importance of the agreement between the European Union and Mercosur, not only in the field of trade, but especially at geopolitical and geostrategic level.

"If the agreement is possible, - and it is closed and signed by the parties - we believe that steps forward are possible, that additional commitments, particularly on sustainability, are possible," he said, speaking at a digital conference promoted by the Portuguese presidency of the Council of the EU.

It is important that the 27 listen "earnestly" to the Mercosur side and understand what "principles and values" they want to defend, without forgetting that "this agreement with Mercosur has a geopolitical and geostrategic importance that goes far beyond the field of trade".

Brilhante Dias considered that the agreement could be important for countries outside Mercosur, "in particular Chile, Colombia or Peru", "countries with strong links to the Pacific", to pave the way for "alliances of an Eastern nature".

The head of internationalisation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who presented the new perspectives for EU trade policy, also highlighted the "new chapter" in the United States which has "impacts on the relationship" with the EU.

It is therefore important that both sides focus on "two central issues in the bilateral and multilateral framework", he said, starting with the latter, which concerns the importance of the US for the "reform of the World Trade Organisation [WTO]".

"This is an important moment to make the US' return to the multilateral agenda also an opportunity for Europe to assert itself and to assert with the US and other partners what is the dynamism of multilateral relations", he argued.

In the bilateral framework, he stressed the need to end "the dispute which is based on the aeronautical sector" and which "has been a strongly penalising element, not only of trade exchanges, but of the environment between the EU and the US".

For the Secretary of State, "China is an unavoidable partner", as is India, a country with which the EU will have a summit on 8 May in Porto, under the Portuguese presidency.

"The summit will be an important moment for us to relaunch negotiations on an independent investment protection agreement that could be the break in the ice, the launch of what would be an opening of wider trade negotiations," he said.

Brilhante Dias also stressed the desire of the Portuguese presidency of the Council of the EU "to work to relaunch and develop trade and investment relations with Africa", this "is a good opportunity" to negotiate with "the Maghreb countries, in particular Morocco and Tunisia".

Finally, he returned to the need for reform of the WTO, calling for its innovation in order to become "capable of addressing" the issues surrounding the dispute settlement mechanism, special and differential treatment, working methods and the climate.

The Secretary of State spoke at the opening of a digital conference on the subject of the European Union's trade policy, organised by the Ministry of the Economy and the Digital Transition, through the Directorate General for Economic Activities (DGAE), with the collaboration of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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