The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, called yesterday Tuesday for the finalization of the European Union – Mercosur agreement, which according to her will be “mutually beneficial” for the two blocs, during her visit to Argentina, as part of her tour in Latin America.

“I hope we will conclude the EU-Mercosur agreement. We sent a first letter. We await a response. We are eager to work as hard as necessary to reach this agreement, (which is) mutually beneficial,” she said during a press conference at the Casa Rosada, the presidential palace, flanked by Argentine President Alberto Fernandez.

At the first stop of her tour, Brazil, yesterday Monday, Ms von der Leyen said she hoped the deal would be ratified “by the end of the year at the latest”.

According to President Fernandes, “it is up to us and Europe to remove the obstacles, and if the political will is there, it is not that difficult.”

“What we want is a balanced agreement,” he added.

Mrs. von der Leyen’s tour is expected to continue in Chile and Mexico.

Mercosur, an alliance of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, completed talks on a trade deal with the EU in 2019 after more than 20 years of negotiations, but the text has yet to be ratified due to European concerns about the environmental policy of the Brazilian far-right ex-president Jáich Bolsonaro (2019-2022). The return to power of centre-left Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has led to a resumption of talks on the issue, but difficulties remain.

Mrs. von der Leyen also announced the signing of a protocol of agreement with Argentina regarding raw materials, especially lithium, the demand for which in Europe “will increase twelvefold by 2030,” as she pointed out.

Argentina is among the countries with the largest production in the world of this metal, necessary for the manufacture of batteries for electric cars and electronics. Together with Bolivia and Chile, they form the “lithium triangle”, in which 65% of the world’s reserves of the mineral are located.

The European Union is today the largest foreign investor in the Latin American and Caribbean region. Ms von der Leyen said she wanted to see “we intensify our efforts even more”, specifically promising that “the European Union will invest 10 billion euros”.

Last year, the European Union’s trade with Latin America and the Caribbean approached a total value of €300 billion.