European Commission spokesman Olof Gill said on Wednesday that the only pending the advance of the agreement between the European Union (EU) and Mercosur “is on the European side.” To the Broadcast (Real-Time News System of the State Group), Gill stated that “the EU will present the deal to all member countries in the coming weeks” and will take “a few months” until the bloc members vote their approval.
According to him, the schedule is due to the fact that, at the moment, the commercial focus of the continent is in tariffs with the United States. Gill also assured that the text that will be subjected to EU countries is the same as closed in December 2024, already approved by Mercosur countries, with only one modification: “Greater protection measures for EU consumers and France farmers.”
Sources linked to the European bloc confirmed to Broadcast under anonymity that France today leads the resistance to Mercosur-UE agreement and therefore pressured for changes in the December text.
Continues after advertising
When asked about this point, Gill said he believed that most EU countries “will agree” with the proposed changes and the final text.
He also pointed out that the “benefits for the EU with the agreement with Mercosur are large”, but minimized the possibility that the interest manifested by other countries, such as Canada, to sign an agreement with the South American bloc, accelerate the completion and vote of the treaty with the Europeans.
