Little progress in EU Mercosur talks

BRUSSELS: Negotiators from the European Union and South America's Mercosur bloc said on Friday they had made progress in trade discussions on services investment and dispute settlement, but more talks were needed.

The EU and Mercosur which groups Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay have been trying for years to draw up a free-trade deal that would encompass 750 million people and trade worth $125 billion a year.

Talks were relaunched in 2010, but unresolved issues dashed hopes of reaching a deal by the middle of this year. The negotiators agreed to meet again in November in Uruguay and in Brussels early next year.

"Chief negotiators of both sides reaffirmed their commitment to move negotiations forward to reach a comprehensive, balanced and ambitious association agreement," the delegations said in a joint statement at the end of five days of talks in Brussels.

It said working groups made "considerable progress in the regulatory texts of the bi-regional agreement, notably in the areas of services-investment and dispute settlement". Sustainable development was also discussed.

The difficulties of the European debt crisis have hampered progress in the discussions, along with more long-term issues such as EU farm subsidies, officials say.

COPYRIGHT REUTERS, 2010