The presidential summit of the countries of the Mercosur will be held this Friday in Montevideo with high expectations of important news regarding the delayed trade agreement between the South American bloc and the EU. The president of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyenarrived in the Uruguayan capital with encouraging words. “Landing in Latin America. The finish line of the EU-Mercosur agreement is in sight,” he wrote in Maros Sefcovic, in the meeting at the highest political level would constitute an “unequivocal signal” that the understanding “is about to bear fruit.”
“The goal of the EU-Mercosur agreement is in sight. Let’s get to work, let’s cross it. We have the opportunity to create a market of 700 million people. The largest trade and investment partnership the world has ever seen. Both regions will benefit,” Von der Leyen had also said before getting on the plane. The president of the European Commission is one of the main promoters of an agreement that would allow European companies to stop paying 4 billion in tariffs that govern the subregion. They second her Germany, Spain, Portugal, Sweden and other eurozone countries. Berlin is especially interested in a happy ending. Germany heads the list of European exporters to Mercosur. Italiathe EU’s third largest exporter to the South American bloc, has not set a firm position on joining the opposition group.
“We are in the final stages of negotiation, and it is the moment when the problems and voices opposed to the agreement also appear,” acknowledged the Uruguayan Foreign Minister, Omar Paganini. The Montevideo meeting is conducive to advancing in the resolution of pending problems. Although technical issues delayed understanding, there is new political will. This has been implied by the Director General of Trade of the European Commission, Sabine Weyand. “The work has progressed, Debates are also underway at the political level. “Commissioner Maros Sefcovic is fully involved in making the talks progress.”
Opposition to the agreement
France, Poland, Austria and the Netherlands They lead the rejection. In the midst of the internal political crisis after the fall of Prime Minister Michel Barnier, Emmanuel Macron reiterated on Thursday his opposition to the trade agreement that would also include matters of a political order and related to cooperation between the parties. “It is unacceptable in its current state. The president has said it again to the president of the European Commission,” stated the Elysée through X. “We will continue to tirelessly defend our agricultural sovereignty“he added.
Italy, the EU’s third largest exporter to Mercosur, has not set a firm position on its accession. The community spokesperson Olof Gill He stressed that the European Commission has exclusive competence to negotiate trade agreements on behalf of the Twenty-Seven with global partners, based on “a mandate from all our Member States, including France.”
Von der Leyen’s urgency is expressed in numbers. He trade between China and Latin America It multiplied by 26 between 2000 and 2020. It has gone from 12 billion dollars to 315 billion. For its part, the exchange between the region and the EU in 2022 has been 293,090 million euros.
comings and goings
The negotiations between the members of Mercosur (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay y Paraguayfurther Bolivia) have had advances and setbacks since the nineties. At the end of 2019, the conditions seemed to be created to sign the agreement. Argentina, then governed by right-wing Mauricio Macri, celebrated in advance. However, the EU asked to include a clause linked to environmental care, the so-called “Green Pact”. Alberto Fernández, Macri’s successor, and then Lula, after taking office in 2023, requested in return to review tariff issues. Could not advance at the expected speed.
Since Lula’s arrival, Brazil has redoubled its efforts to achieve understanding. It is the second producer and first world beef exporter. The livestock sector of the South American giant has a special interest in the opening of the European market. The responsibility of that sector in the deforestation It is usually contested especially from France and, also, Ireland.
The Montevideo summit has other political curiosities. The far right Javier Miley will meet again with his Brazilian colleague, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. An ideological abyss separates them but that distance could be reduced with regard to the approval of the agreement with the EU. The main partners of the bloc, however, have serious differences over its operation. Buenos Aires wants Mercosur to make its internal regulations more flexible. Milei, in fact, views with greater sympathy a free trade pact with the United States when Donald Trump takes office.
Possible scenarios
If everything goes well in Uruguay, the agreement will have to overcome other challenges. ‘Folha’ recalled that the ratification of the treaty in Brussels “is the next complex chapter in history.” The document must undergo a technical review and vote in the European Parliament, before being passed on to the parliaments of each EU member country. The agreement is approved with the endorsement of 15 of the 27 European countries, as long as they bring together 65% of the total population of the area. The legislatures of Mercosur members must do the same. Nothing is completely guaranteed. “A proposed solution would be to separate the political part from the commercial part. The latter could be approved by a simple majority in the European Parliament, without any other requirements,” said the São Paulo newspaper.
