Milei criticizes Mercosur and says relationship with European Union proves South American bloc’s slowness

The President of Argentina, Javier Mileicarried out a series of criticism of Mercosur during the plenary session of the 67th Summit of the South American bloc, held this Saturday in Foz do Iguaçu (PR). He said the goals of the customs union have never been achieved and there is excessive internal bureaucracy that has hampered deals such as the one with the European Union.

“Mercosur was born with a clear mission: to promote trade, increase prosperity, integrate markets and increase the competitiveness of our societies and none of the central objectives were achieved“, said Milei. “There is no common market, there is no effective free movement, there is no macroeconomic coordination, there is no real regulatory harmonization, there is no significant increase in internal trade, there is not enough openness to the world,” he continued.

Milei also argued that there were many bureaucracy and internal obstacles. “Flexibility is an asset, not a threat.” He came back to advocate that each associated state negotiate with other countries outside the bloc. “Experience shows that when Mercosur tries to move forward in a monolithic way, processes expand and opportunities are lost.”

Failed deal with the European Union

Milei said the attempt to according to the European Union (EU) proves the slowness of Mercosur, because decades of negotiations were not enough to make the agreement a reality. “Our countries no longer have ten years to waste in administrative disputes.” And he argued that the the bloc needs a modern, simple and competitive tariff system.

The video of the speech was published late by Argentine government media. The Brazilian government broadcasts live only the president’s speeches Luiz Inácio Lula da Silvapro tempore president of Mercosur until December, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauro Vieira.

It was up to other countries to keep the archives of their respective presidents. Only Paraguay, which will assume the presidency of the bloc in January for six months, broadcasts in real time.