Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa warned this Wednesday of the challenge posed by a future enlargement of the European Union (EU). happening is the frustration of the expectations of Ukraine”. At the conclusion of the Forum La Toja – Vínculo Atlântico, which left that Galician island for the first time and came to Lisbon, Costa was also confident that during the Spanish presidency of the EU Council would be possible to “a strong impetus” to conclude the agreement with Mercosur.
“It is not a kilo of steak produced in Europe that can justify the delay in the EU-Mercosur agreement”, said the prime minister, noting that this could be the starting point for “a great transatlantic alliance”. The association agreement with the country bloc formed by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay was concluded in 2019, but obstacles to ratification remain, particularly due to agricultural issues. The Spanish Presidency will take place in the next semester.
“If Europe had moved faster in the Mercosur negotiations, our partners would probably now have a more assertive understanding of the moment we live in Europe,” he admitted, speaking of the different positions taken regarding the war in Ukraine .
Costa also spoke about Ukraine in the context of a future EU enlargement, saying the worst that could happen is for Kiev to see its expectations frustrated. For example, he thought this was the case with Turkey, which eventually moved further away from the EU. But he recalled that it is necessary to prepare the house first, claiming, for example, that no European Commission president will have the “fantasy” of getting 36 portfolios to eventually distribute to all countries. Despite the fact that the Lisbon Treaty no longer provides for a portfolio for each country, Costa asks: “Who will be the first to offer not to sit in the European Commission?”
regional integration
The Prime Minister took part in the closing of the forum, with the motto in the previous panel on the integration of Latin America. Former Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said the European integration process was created primarily to ensure peace in a continent that has been through two world wars. And that has expanded under shared values, democracy, human rights or the rule of law.
In Latin America, Rajoy believed that political polarization, as well as the weakness of the rule of law and of commercial exchanges between countries in the region, have not allowed greater integration. “I believe it takes will, it takes to keep the rules of the game clear and preserve the fundamental values of democracy”said Rajoy, advocating starting the process with a few countries and then expanding it.
The former head of Portuguese diplomacy, Paulo Portas, spoke of an “ideological outbreak” in Latin America and recalled that “ideology is not good for the economy”. The former minister said that “countries that close borders become poorer” and explained that “in globalization there are no empty spaces”. Portas does not believe there is a “de-globalization”, but rather a “fragmentation of globalization”.
Former Peruvian Prime Minister Pedro Cateriano explained that while integration is still pending, he is currently concerned about “the health of democracies” in Latin America. Former Brazilian President Michel Temer assured that his country has a “constitutional determination” to defend Latin American integration.
Source: DN
