The leading official from the Southern Common Market or Mercosur Carlos Alvarez called for the European Union (EU) on Monday to relax its position and open its market so the two blocs can set up a trade agreement.

    At a press conference during the two-day Mercosur summit meeting opened here Monday, Alvarez, who leads the Mercosur Permanent Representatives Commission or CPRM, criticized the EU for being little different from the United States in terms of its model trade agreements.

    "What it does is demand that our nations cede our industrial development, autonomous development of services, intellectual property and public purchasing," said Alvarez, who heads a body that promotes trade inside Mercosur and develops foreign policy for the bloc's presidency.

    Mercosur's nations -- Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay --"are struggling to create a development model which integrates social inclusion, which we called post-neo-liberal. We seek to differentiate from eras where open markets were promoted indiscriminately," he added.

    Alvarez, a former Argentina vice president, described the two blocs' relationship as being characterized by an asymmetry, because "Europe has a level of development that Mercosur nations do not have. That is why we need a special relationship," he said.

    The two blocs have been negotiating a trade agreement for years, which has been stymied by European agricultural subsidies that are opposed by South American nations.