Following up on the meeting held in Montevideo in December 2003, the Coordinating Committee of Southern Cone Trade Union Confederations (CCSCS), the Workers’ Council of the Southern Cone (CTCS) and the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) met in Mexico City on 13 April, within the framework of the Meeting of Civil Society of Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, in order to evaluate the ongoing negotiations between MERCOSUR and the European Union.

The negotiations for a Partnership Agreement are expected to conclude in October 2004, crowning four years and 12 rounds of talks by the Negotiating Committee. The governments in both regional blocs have publicly expressed their support for the partnership. The European Commission and European Parliament have stated that the agreement with MERCOSUR is a top priority of the EU’s external relations policy, and national presidents also backed the process at the MERCOSUR summit in Montevideo. Clearly, the forthcoming Summit of Presidents and Heads of State and Government of Latin America and the European Union, scheduled to take place in Guadalajara (Mexico) in the course of May, will be a defining moment in the process of translating that political will into practice.

Negotiations are accelerating against a regional, continental and global backdrop of major changes. As regards the EU, no doubt the accession of 15 new Member States will have significant repercussions not only on the internal functioning of the EU but also in terms of its relations with the world at large. For its part, the MERCOSUR integration process is deepening and moving closer to the strategic goal of building an economic and political union. Finally, at global level, the WTO round has come to a standstill as a result of the southern hemisphere countries taking a firmer stance and joining forces in an effort to redress the balance in the negotiations, which up until now have been largely subordinated to the interests of the “central countries”.

The Buenos Aires Consensus

The current re-energising of MERCOSUR, promoted by Presidents Kirchner and Lula in accordance with the aims set out in a joint declaration known as the “Buenos Aires Consensus”, started taking shape at the Montevideo summit with decisions such as taking Peru on board as an associate member, the free trade agreement with the Andean Community of Nations and the creation of a Committee of Permanent Representatives (similar to the European COREPER). The ’Buenos Aires Consensus’ defines regional integration as a strategic process that will increase MERCOSUR’s capacity to negotiate with third countries, with other regional blocs and multilaterally .

Opting for a strong MERCOSUR implies a change in the international relations of Latin America’s Southern Cone countries. This should promote the partnership between MERCOSUR and the EU since, in spite of the asymmetries of their economies, they are similar projects which aim to integrate not only their respective markets but also the peoples of the two regions.

Against this background, the ETUC, CCSCS and CTCS believe it is essential to strengthen the process of democratisation of Community institutions in both regional blocs. Following the introduction of a single currency and the recent enlargement of the EU, the ETUC supports the adoption of the proposed European Constitution (in spite of its limitations). Similarly, the 5th MERCOSUR Trade Union Summit, organised by the CCSCS, informed the Presidents’ meeting in Montevideo that it was in favour of creating a MERCOSUR Parliament and other supranational bodies, as well as strengthening similar existing bodies, including the Consultative Economic and Social Forum.

Concerning the conclusion of negotiations

The trade union movement in both Europe and the Southern Cone has repeatedly called for a balanced and fair agreement which will strengthen political, economic and cultural relations between the two regions and at the same time promote respect for human rights (including, in particular, social rights) as well as decent employment, sustainable development and all democratic values.

We have also called on the Community authorities of both blocs to mutually eliminate the protectionist barriers which stand in the way of a successful conclusion to the negotiations. More specifically, the ETUC Congress (Prague, May 2003) came out in favour of reforming the Common Agricultural Policy, a move which includes abolishing export subsidies for European products.

Nevertheless, trade union organisations in both regional blocs wish to stress that reforming the Common Agricultural Policy will most certainly not solve all the existing problems. If anything characterises the current phase of globalisation, it is the deepening imbalances and widening gap between the underdeveloped countries and the highly industrialised countries. With every passing day, we bear witness to the worsening of historically unfair terms of exchange between, on the one hand, the low-employment, low-income generating natural products that the American Southern Cone countries are able to export and, on the other hand, the highly finished industrial products which they tend to import and which are clearly the most dynamic products in world trade, given that their production is based on the use of knowledge-intensive technologies.

This subordinate and peripheral integration of Latin America in the global economy - a result of the historical role played by the continent’s economies in the international division of labour — has had devastating consequences in terms of increased unemployment, poverty and a breakdown of the social fabric.

This is why our trade union organisations are urging the governments of the EU and MERCOSUR to work towards a much more comprehensive agreement which goes well beyond the economic field in order to address the problems of achieving sustainable growth with social justice. As part of this approach, we believe it is essential not to include the so-called Singapore issues on the negotiating agenda, given that such a move entails a high risk of hindering the development of the MERCOSUR countries. At the same time, it is imperative to include the following issues in the agreement between the two blocs:

Underdeveloped countries ability to use tools to develop an industrial policy.

The choice of economic production priorities based on the concept of intra-industrial production complementarity so as not to reproduce the historical centre/periphery division between the two blocs.

Technological and scientific cooperation between the two blocs should be geared towards achieving sustainable development combined with social justice.

The inclusion of small and medium-sized enterprises in the production restructuring process.

The opening of credit lines and financing for productive enterprises capable of generating a high level of employment.

Strict investment control by governments. European investments in Latin America were very strong in the 1990s but, far from generating employment and new production initiatives, these investments were concentrated in the privatisation process promoted by neoliberal governments in the region and consequently generated unemployment and the onset of a process of negative income redistribution to the benefit of the central countries and the detriment of the peripheral ones.

To these ends, and in view of the important high-level meetings planned between MERCOSUR and the European Union in the coming period, we urge the governments of the countries participating in both integration processes to include the above-mentioned aspects in the negotiations so as to ensure that the agreement stands for a genuine, comprehensive partnership: economic, social, political and cultural.

A genuine political partnership with a social dimension

We also request the European and MERCOSUR governments to include in the inter-regional agreement a commitment to furthering social dialogue and implementing international labour standards, especially the ILO’s 1998 Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.

The documents already adopted with regard to labour issues in both regions, the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the MERCOSUR Social and Labour Declaration should be recognised and implemented as instruments of social improvement. To this end, the CCSCS, CTCS and ETUC are currently finalising a chapter on social and labour issues, to be incorporated in the MERCOSUR-EU agreement. Said chapter will be submitted to the national governments and authorities in both regional blocs sometime in June on the occasion of the round of negotiations in Buenos Aires.

Furthermore, the willingness expressed by the institutions of both regions to enable the active participation of civil society should be given concrete form by strengthening and complementing the bodies already in place for this purpose (as set out in the ’Buenos Aires Consensus’). To this end, the MERCOSUR Economic and Social Consultative Forum must be provided with more extensive means and powers so that, together with the European Economic and Social Committee, it can effectively represent civil society as a whole in the future MERCOSUR-EU partnership.

It is also necessary for the Community institutions to support the EU-MERCOSUR Labour Forum in order to ensure that trade union organisations have an effective and recognised instrument (as employers already have in the Employers’ Forum) to convey the specific demands of workers and contribute to their education on the issues of integration and sub-regional dialogue.

Finally, it should be stressed that the changes that have taken place on the international political scene through the strengthening of MERCOSUR as well as through the Buenos Aires Consensus, the agreement between MERCOSUR and the Andean Community of Nations, and the show of unity by 22 peoples and governments of dependent countries at the latest WTO negotiation round in Cancun, not only confirm that a new scenario is emerging at the global level but also highlight the effectiveness of the strategic approaches that our organisations have been promoting in recent years. It is in this general framework that social organisations and governments alike must fulfil their responsibility to change a situation which is so unfair to millions of women and men.

As in countless previous occasions, the organised trade union movement will be ready to meet the challenges that lie ahead. We expect the same from our governments.

13 April 2004