Officials from the European Union and the four Mercosur countries led by Brazil began final talks on Wednesday on a free-trade area before an end of the month deadline. Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay have been trying to reach an accord with the European Union (EU) for more than five years. They had hoped to succeed before Nov. 1 when the new EU leadership takes over. Foreign ministers from the four South American countries began talks with the EU's trade and farm chiefs at Portugal's Foreign Ministry, which is hosting the negotiations. A pact could give a huge boost to trade between the EU and Mercosur from its current $40 billion a year. "I hope that with the meeting we created an atmosphere which will facilitate work for the next Commission," Portuguese Foreign Minister Antonio Monteiro told reporters. He had no estimate of when the round might end. Officials from the 25-nation EU and Brazil recently said they doubted a deal would be signed by the end of October. European Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy on Wednesday appeared to lay the groundwork for extending the deadline. "We will see what our Mercosur colleagues come along with. I think the minimum objective for Mercosur ... is to stabilise things with a view to the future, to stabilise the negotiations at a level higher than the two offers on the table," Lamy said in Brussels on Wednesday. "We are prepared to have discussions on that basis, if only to make life easier for my successor," he added.
