La Ambassador of the European Union in Argentina, Aude Maio-Coliche, admitted on Tuesday (11.05.2021) that regional integration is built on crises. She stressed the importance of multilateralism and spoke of the cooperation actions that she is carrying out in Argentina. Finally, the diplomat encouraged finding a way to ratify the European Union-MERCOSUR Agreement as soon as possible.
“The integration of the European Union is at a point where no one can ask whether it will continue or not. It is there. It exists. That is why it is interesting to realize that in order to manage crises such as the financial crisis of 2008, Brexit and the current COVID-19 pandemic, we need more integration.“said Aude Maio-Coliche.
The head of the European Union Delegation in Argentina gave a virtual conference at a diplomatic breakfast, organized by the European Club, where Europe Day was celebrated, in commemoration of the speech given on May 9, 1950 by Robert Schuman, French Minister of Foreign Affairs, to present a new model of political and economic cooperation, which was the germ of the European Coal and Steel Community and, finally, the European Union that currently unites 27 countries on the continent.
Aude Maio-Coliche explained How the European Union reacted internally to deal with the consequences of the pandemic. In July 2020, the €750.000 billion Recovery Fund was launched to help countries hardest hit by the coronavirus crisis. It made clear: "This is a loan as a group where the countries had the will to resolve the crisis at a multilateral level, adopting a greater interdependence".
The Ambassador said that in Europe “The loan is aimed at relaunching the most affected economies in a sustainable way, that is, green and digital. To this end, the countries presented recovery plans with mechanisms that respond to these priorities.".
Within the framework of External cooperation for pandemic recovery, the Head of the Delegation of the European Union detailed the efforts implemented in Argentina such as, for example, the actions developed with the "European Team" in different provinces to strengthen the health security in border crossings, Triple Border and Aguas Blancas.
He also referred to the context of the EU – MERCOSUR Agreement, a strategic partnership initiative signed in June 2019 after long and complex negotiations that began in 1995. The terms reached cover aspects of political dialogue, trade and cooperation.
For the countries of the southern bloc, the agreement means building an economic, cultural and political bridge with a region that represents 20% of the world's gross domestic product (GDP), a population of 500 million people with an average per capita income of 34 thousand dollars, high technological development and community integration unparalleled in other latitudes. However, in the midst of the Covid-19 and climate change crises, The agreement between the blocs should highlight aspects linked to sustainability and associative criteria that transcend commercial objectives. The European Union Delegate in the country was emphatic about the latter.
"Opinions in the EU are increasingly sensitive to environmental protection. The fires in the Amazon did not help to raise confidence regarding the liberalization of trade with the MERCOSUR countries," said Aude Maio-Coliche. While everyone is expected to respect the obligations of the Paris Agreement, which sets out measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, "We are trying to find a way to ratify the EU-MERCOSUR Agreement as soon as possible", he finished.
From this perspective, the alliance of two regions would send an important signal in favour of sustainability, multilateralism and democracy, and would recognise a common interest in sustainable development models.
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