MERCOSUR Secretariat
Establishment
The Treaty of Asunción (1991) provided for the creation of an Administrative Secretariat headquartered in Montevideo, whose main responsibilities included the safekeeping of documents and support for the Common Market Group.
Later, in 1994, the Ouro Preto Protocol incorporated the MERCOSUR Administrative Secretariat (SAM) into the bloc’s institutional structure as an operational support body, tasked with providing services to other MERCOSUR bodies.
In December 1996, MERCOSUR and the Eastern Republic of Uruguay signed the Headquarters Agreement governing the Operation of the MERCOSUR Administrative Secretariat. This agreement was approved by CMC Decision No. 04/96 and incorporated into Uruguay’s domestic legislation through Law No. 16.829 of May 29, 1997.
Functions
Until 2002, the Secretariat primarily performed administrative functions. These included serving as the official archive for MERCOSUR documents; publishing the legal instruments adopted by the bloc’s decision-making bodies; organizing meeting logistics for MERCOSUR bodies both at the headquarters and in other locations; regularly informing the States Parties of the status of incorporation of adopted norms; and fulfilling other tasks assigned by the relevant bodies.
In response to the evolving integration process, the States Parties agreed in 2002 to initiate the transformation of SAM into a Technical Secretariat.
CMC Decision No. 30/02 authorized the MERCOSUR Administrative Secretariat to use the name “MERCOSUR Secretariat (SM)” for dissemination purposes, with no legal implications. New functions were assigned, and the Technical Advisory Sector (SAT) was established.
The very dynamics of the integration process and the need to further progress toward the realization of the common market have driven legal and institutional developments. To that end, the Secretariat has been reorganized to strengthen its structure and enhance its technical and operational capacity.
Accordingly, in early 2007, CMC Decision No. 07/07 on the Structure and Operation of the MERCOSUR Secretariat was adopted, redefining the responsibilities of the sectors that make up the Secretariat.
Subsequently, in addition to the existing sectors, the Secretariat’s technical profile has been strengthened with the establishment of several specialized units, including: the FOCEM Technical Unit (UTF), the MERCOSUR Foreign Trade Statistics Technical Unit (UTECEM), the International Cooperation Technical Unit (UTCI), and the MERCOSUR Communication and Information Unit (UCIM).
Finally, CMC Decision No. 15/15, “General Rules for MERCOSUR Staff,” consolidated and updated the regulations applicable to MERCOSUR staff, as well as the organizational structure and functioning of the Secretariat and the UTF.
