The parliament for the Common Market of the South (Mercosur) was established in Brasilia on Thursday with calls for unity and to strengthen the integration of member states.

The parliament represents a new level of institutionalization for the South American bloc created in 1991. For the moment, it will be an advisory organ and will assume other functions later.

The parliament will have 90 deputies from Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, plus a representative from Venezuela which will not have vote until the country fulfils all of the requirements to become a full-fledged member.

During the inaugural ceremony for the parliament in Brazil's Senate chambers, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said the bloc must respond to critics with more integration.

Lula said the parliament will help overcome bureaucratic problems and disagreements among member states. Calls for unity are a veiled reference to several disagreements between member states, specially between Argentina and Uruguay over a paper mill on their border.
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Argentina protested over the building of the paper mill along the Uruguayan side of a border river, saying the mill will pollute the environment.

Brazilian senator Sergio Zambiazzi said a Justice, Citizenship and Human Rights Commission will be created within the Mercosur parliament.

The parliament's final headquarters will be in Montevideo, Uruguay, and each member state will have the right to designate nine deputies and nine senators in the first phase. During a second phase, starting from 2010, members of parliament will be elected by direct, universal and secret ballot.

The presidents of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay agreed to create the Mercosur parliament during a meeting in Montevideo in December 2005.

(Xinhua News Agency December 15, 2006)