UPDATE 1-EU's Dombrovskis sees 'willingness' to finalise Mercosur trade deal

(Adds details on Mercosur negotiations)

MADRID, Sept 15 (Reuters) - European Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said it will take a few days to have a reaction to the Mercosur countries' response to an EU side letter to finalise the trade deal between the two regions.

"There is willingness to engage and make progress on the Mercosur trade deal on both sides," Dombrovskis told a news conference at the end of a Latin American and European Union finance ministers meeting at Santiago de Compostela in Spain on Friday.

The trade agreement was reached in 2019 after two decades of negotiations but has been on hold due to environmental concerns.

"For our part, we will do our utmost to push for an agreement to be reached under the Spanish presidency," said acting Economy Minister Nadia Calvino.

Earlier this year, the EU presented Mercosur with an addendum to the agreement that included environmental safeguards to address reservations by many EU member states.

Brazil, which currently holds the pro tempore presidency of Mercosur, said on Thursday that Mercosur's response to the European Union's additions to their long-awaited trade accord has been delivered to Brussels and that negotiators held a video conference afterwards.

EU negotiators had been waiting for Mercosur's response since March. Many had hoped for a swift conclusion to the agreement under President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who overhauled Brazil's environmental policies to protect the Amazon rainforest since taking office this year. (Reporting by Jan Strupczewski and Belén Carreño; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Sandra Maler)