[[Picture: Mercosul.PNG|thumb|260px|Die states of the Mercosul/Mercosur:" " "  Full members and membership decided associated states in negotiations over association]] MERCOSUR is the abbreviation for Mercado del Sur (Common Market of the south). The Portuguese designation reads MERCOSUL for Mercado Comum DO Sul.

The MERCOSUR assembled by signing of the contract of of 26. March 1991. Concerns here a domestic market with more than 230 million consumers (conditions 2005), which at present covers 12 million square kilometers or approx. 58% of the surface of Latin America, a gross inland product of approx. 735.3 billion dollar, a volume of exports of approx. 55 billion dollar and an import volume of approx. 45 billion dollar.

Member states and associated states

Members of the Mercosur are:

• Argentina
• Brazil
• Paraguay
• Uruguay

associated member during the entry process with observer status:

• Venezuela (associates since 2004); Full membership for at the end of of 2006

associated states are:

• Chile (1996)
• Bolivia (1997)
• Peru (2003)
• Colombia (2004)
• Ecuador (2004)

With Mexico the Mercosur took up 2004 discussions on 8 July over an association.

To 8. /9.Dezember 2005 decided membership of Venezuela becomes at the end of of 2006 officially. Up to then the country holds the status of an observer and has thereby in the advice and in the commission talking however no right to vote.

Member of the Mercosur can become according to the Protocolo de Ushuaia sobre Compromiso (minutes of Ushuaia over the democracy) only democratic States of. This regulation is to prevent that the Latin American countries come again back into the dictatorship.

Goals

The goals of the Mercosur are in the preamble of the contract of The contract calls as goals:

1. the enlargement of the national markets of the member states as fundamental condition for the acceleration of the economic development processes with consideration of the social justice; this is to be achieved considering the protection of the environment, as well as by the improvement of the infrastructure between the member states, by the co-ordination of the macro-economic Politiken and by the addition of sparkling wine-oral Politiken
2. an adequate integration of the member states into the international structure of the large economic blocs
3. the promotion of the scientific and technical development of the member states (thus an improvement of the offer and the quality of the goods and services is to be achieved and thus the improvement of the living conditions) and
4. causing a ever more comprehensive union between the peoples.

These goals are to be achieved according to kind 1 of the contract by by the creation of a Common Market by 31 December 1994, which exhibits the following characteristics:

• the free traffic of goods, services and factors of production between the member states; among other things by the abolishment of tariffs, non-tariff eras barriers to trade and jedweden other measures of same effect;
• the mechanism of a common external tariff and the definition of a common commercial policy in relation to third states or groupings of states and the coordination of the positions in regional and international restaurant forums;
• the co-ordination of the macro-economic and sparkling wine-oral Politiken between the member states, in addition belong: the foreign trade policy, which agricultural policy, which industrial policy, which Fiskal, rate of exchange, money, and capital market politics, which service politics, which tariff policies, which traffic policy, which communication politics and other Politiken, on which one agrees, in order to create adequate conditions for the competition between the member states; and
• the promise of the member states to harmonize their legislation in the areas concerned in order to reach a stabilization of the process of integration.

After end is guessed/advised 90's the development of the MERCOSUR something in coming to a hold, in the year 2000 by the member states a new stage of the regional integration was rung in, these called it "Relanzamiento del Mercosur" (restart of the Mercosur). It has as a goal to strengthen the customs union inward and outward.

The governments of the member states underlined therefore the convergence and co-ordination So one wants to achieve a lasting Fiskal and a monetary policy, in order to guarantee the stability of the prices.

The moreover one the Mercosur is to be occupied after this restart with the following subranges intensively:

• Entrance to the markets
• Acceleration of the customs clearance
• Incentives within the ranges of the investment, production, export
• Common customs tariff
• Competition right
• Solution of disputes
• Conversion of the Mercosur right in the member states
• Stabilization of the institutional structure
• External relations

Problems of the extension and the recess

In connection with the extension and the recess of the confederation of states arise a multiplicity of problems, which obstruct these two processes.

• On the one hand there are the traditional rivalries, like e.g. between Brazil and Argentina (this breaks also with the discussion around the reform of the United Nations) or also between Chile and Bolivia (entrance to the Pacific; Saltpeter war).
• The moreover one there is a country, which could dominate the others due to its size in the Mercosur contrary to the European Union with Brazil. This makes it more difficult to decrease the effects above mentioned rivalry with Argentina.
• One point of main conflict is at present the missing strategy in handling the USA (FTAA), which might still strengthen with the full membership of Venezuela or also Bolivia.
• It is to be locked forbidden to members of the Mercosur with third states bilateral free trade agreements. This leads in Uruguay and Paraguay to considerations from the confederation of states again to withdraw.

Organs

The contract of of 1991 knew only two organs and defined only very in a diffuse way their functions during the transition period to the Common Market. This had the advantage that one had to adhere to no rigid structures, and this simplified a continuous development of the process of integration again. Minutes of Ouro Preto of 1994 completed and concretized the institutional structure of the Mercosur in the sense that it A) new organs created and to b) their characteristics and competencies specified. The kind calls 1 of minutes of Ouro Preto as organs of the Mercosur:

• El Consejo del Mercado (CMC)
• El Grupo Mercado (GMC)
• La de Comercio del Mercosur (CCM)
• La Parlamentaria Conjunta (CPC)
• El Foro Consultivo Social (FCES)
• La Administrativa del Mercosur (SAM)

(See illustration 1)

• Tribunal permanent one de (since 2004)

- in planning: A common parliament to at the end of of 2006

The first two organs and the secretariat exist since the signing of the contract. The secretariat did not have however in the contract of yet the status of an organ to separate was in, the GMC assigned, administrative subsidiary organ.

Neither in the contract of nor in minutes of Ouro Preto are the Mercosur summits. The summits are half-yearly meetings of the presidents of the Mercosur states, which take place at the same time with the meetings of the CMC. Since that time the summits resulted of a political initiative and consist from habit away. In kind 6 of minutes of Ouro Preto is thus also the only reference to the summits:

"The advice of the Common Market meets everyone times, if it judges it meaningful, obligating is at least one meeting in the term under the participation of the presidents of the member states. "

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