Date of release : 24-05-2005

Policy area : General Affairs and External Relations

Event : EU-Mercosur Ministerial Meeting

Jean Asselborn, Minister for Foreign Affairs and current President of the Council of the European Union, will co-preside over the ministerial meeting between the Euopean Union and MERCOSUR with his Paraguayan counterpart, Leila Rachid de Cowles. Paraguay has assumed the pro tempore presidency of MERCOSUR. Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay will take part in the meeting. MERCOSUR, which was founded in March 1991, and the European Union have maintained relations which date back to an interregional framework cooperation agreement signed in Madrid on 15 December 1995. This agreement, which officially entered into force on 1 July 1999, involves the three areas of political dialogue, the economic aspect and cooperation, topics that will be discussed in Luxembourg.