The New Nature of Diversification: Negotiation with Europe

One of the foreign policy objectives of the 1995-2000 Mexico’s National Development Plan was to achieve an integral accord with the European Union (EU) that would guarantee the exchange of goods and services as well as cooperation and political dialogue with that important region. Today, five years later, the Agreement of Economic Association, Political Consultations and Cooperation between Mexico and the EU has been initiated. Mario Chacón details the process the two parties have engaged in, to establish closer ties and for purposes of negotiation, as well as each one’s reasons for completing the agreement. The road was long and filled with difficulties; it included bilateral actions for an approachment to each one of the EU countries; lobbying at the community level, both by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Trade and Industrial Development; trade negotiation properly speaking and its implications: seeking the opinion of the domestic productive sectors, among the most important ones. In this essay, the author explains in general terms the structure of the Agreement and the benefits expected in the political,economic and cooperative arenas. According to him, the agreement places Mexico in a privileged situation in terms of the world scene, and opens up a window of opportunity that will allow Mexican society to achieve greater levels of well-being.