Minister Rui Costa (Casa Civil) stated this weekend that the president’s government (PT) wants to sign the stalled trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union at the next negotiation meeting between the two blocs, scheduled for the 6th of December in Montevideo, Uruguay.
According to him, the bilateral meeting this Sunday (17) with the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, was fruitful and she is now working to convince France to accept the terms of the agreement. The country led by Emmanuel Macron has been resistant to signing the treaty and .
“They [Comissão Europeia] they will work intensely, especially with France, which has great resistance, to making an agreement with Mercosur. In other words, we are moving forward with the UAE [Árabes Unidos]with the Arab countries, with China, but we want to move forward with agreements with Europe, with the United States, all it takes is their decision to also want to move forward and form partnerships with Brazil,” Rui Costa told GloboNews.
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During the bilateral meeting this Sunday (17), . The president of the European Commission reinforced the strategic and economic importance of the treaty, highlighting that, although they are close to an outcome, the final phase is the most challenging.
“The devil is always in the details. The final stretch is the most important, but also the most difficult, often”, he also stated in an interview with GloboNews.
Although the free trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union has been under negotiation for 25 years, its implementation still faces significant obstacles. In 2019, the parties reached a political agreement, but since then some European countries have imposed barriers.
French resistance is mainly due to concerns from farmers who fear the entry of South American products into the European market under unequal conditions, affecting local competitiveness. The European Commission, on the other hand, claims to have the power to sign the treaty, but recognizes that a political consensus among the 27 member states is essential for progress.
There is no expectation that significant progress will be achieved during the G20 summit. Conversations continue at a technical level, with the hope that a consensus will eventually be reached.
The EU-Mercosur agreement aims to create an integrated market with around 800 million inhabitants, eliminating import tariffs on more than 90% of European products exported to Mercosur.
