Brasilia, 1 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - Minister of Foreign Relations Celso Lafer and the European Union's Foreign Trade Commissioner, Pascal Lamy, addressed on Thursday, in Brasilia, matters of common interest - such as the Doha Conference, multilateral relations in the ambit of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the crisis in Argentina, and negotiations between the Mercosur and EU trade blocs.

Lamy said that Mercosur-EU negotiations are of maximum priority for European governments. He also stressed the importance of having the Mercosur as a trade partner and the need to intensify the talks between the two blocs. He pointed out, however, that this intensification doesn't mean speeding up the negotiations, but giving them a boost to surpass the current complex phase. "We find ourselves in a situation in which the negotiation parameters have not yet become very clear," he argued.

As to the issue of tires, in which Brazil refuses to import refurbished tires from the European Union, Lafer declared that the expectation is that a solution will be found that is mutually agreeable to both parties. (MW)