Surprise in Belgium and France for the cancellation of Mauricio Macri's trip

Between gestures of surprise, a certain discomfort and a relative understanding of the situation that Argentina is going through, Foreign diplomacy received the decision of President Mauricio Macri to cancel the official visits that he planned to carry out in Belgium, France and the Commission of the European Union.

The Chancellor's message Jorge Faurie He arrived late at embbadies stationed in Buenos Aires and at midnight in Europe. The reaction was astonishment and in some cases, bad mood. These were visits scheduled a year in advance and which had raised many expectations. In addition, it was mentioned by the Chancellery that the trips had been postponed. Although Belgian and French diplomats felt that it was a cancellation without a scheduled postponement date.

However, the suspension of travel to Brussels and Paris was relatively well understood given the political and economic context in which Argentina is located. Foreign Minister Faurie said that "The president understood that it was not the right time to travel, but he prefers to stay close to the announced economic measures". Also close to Faurie mentioned in Infobae that "this type of situation usually occurs for not having to fatten the facts", in connection with a negative reading of the cancellation of the trips.

On April 26, Macri had planned to arrive in France for a meeting with Emmanuel Macron and move forward in the bilateral dialogue that includes the European Union and Mercosur agreements with a view to a possible free trade agreement. Diplomatic sources of la France confirmed at Infobae during this visit, they sought to strengthen bilateral relations and a series of meetings with businessmen was planned. It was also learned that Macron would talk to Macri about the invitation he had made to Social Development Ministers Carolina Stanley and Alejandro Finocchiaro to participate in the deliberations ahead of the G-7 Presidents' Summit, the small group from countries that will meet in Paris in the middle of the year.

None of this will be possible now. Instead, from the French Embbady in Buenos Aires, they explained to Infobae What "We fully understand the reasons why the President must postpone his visit."

At the same time, close to the ambbadador Pierre Guignard They stated that "this failure does not change the quality of the relationship, and especially the friendship between the two heads of state". Thus, France pointed out that since last November, these relations have taken on a new dimension. "We will continue to work together to strengthen our ties and act together in international fora in line with our respective presidencies of the G20 and G7. The relations between France and Argentina, based on our common values, are stronger it never rests and it rests on two pillars, economic and cultural, very strong, "they said at the Embbady of France.

In contrast, the climate of the Embbady of Belgium This was not similar to that of France. The ambbadador of Belgium Peter Maddens He stressed that "it is a pity that this visit was canceled, we had a good program of exchanges at all levels," he said.

At the same time, consulted by Infobae, the Belgian ambbadador pointed out that in bilateral relations, this can happen. "We accept that decisions are necessary and we are moving forward, the friendship between our two countries is too long to understand this kind of thing," he said.

During his stay in Belgium, Macri had planned to meet with the King Philip, with Prime Minister Charles Michel and with representatives of Parliament. There was also a series of activities in Brussels and a gala dinner in the honor of the Argentine President. The trade balance of Belgium and Argentina is very low, around 800 million dollars, although the aspiration of both countries is to reinforce this commercial flow while developing relations in the scientific, technological, security and human rights. Now everything will be more complicated.

Brussels, diplomatic sources of the Belgian government lamented the lack of Macri and said Infobae: "From now on, there will be no positive vision of Argentina."

Macri took advantage of his stopover in Brussels to hold meetings with the authorities of the European Union. He was scheduled to meet the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, and the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk. In both cases, the President would make his positions known in the process of negotiating the Free Trade Agreement between the EU and Mercosur. But all this must wait for another trip.