The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyenand the president of the European Council, Antonio Costa, will travel next Saturday, January 17th to Asuncion (Paraguay) to sign the trade agreement with the Mercosur countries to which the community governments They gave the go-ahead last weekafter more than 25 years of negotiations.
The pact between the EU and Mercosur, which make up Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, is one step closer to being a reality. After a majority of the bloc’s countries supported the text last Friday, Von der Leyen will travel to Asunción to seal the deal. The image is enormously symbolic, after decades of trying to close the text.
“This agreement marks a new era in trade and cooperation with our Mercosur partners. But it is also a testimony of the resilience and strength of our relationship with Latin America and will bring us even closer,” Von der Leyen said in a statement. The German will be accompanied by Costa, representing the governments.
In the eyes of the president of the Commission, the agreement is “mutually beneficial”, “will increase prosperity and create opportunities”. For the President of the Council, it will bring “real benefits for European consumers and businesses” and “demonstrates that rules-based trade agreements are equally beneficial for all parties“But not everyone agrees and the text must be endorsed by the European Parliament.
France’s opposition
“The signing of the agreement is not the end of the story,” the French president warned, Emmanuel Macron. “I will continue fighting for the full and concrete implementation of the commitments made with the European Commission and for the protection of our farmers,” he added. France hopes to stop the text during the ratification process in the European Parliament.
Macron acknowledged that your country has achieved practically everything it has asked for. Under pressure from European farmers and governments, the European Commission has created an emergency brake in the event that imports from Mercosur countries have a negative impact on European markets. The text includes mirror clauses to ensure that European production standards are met and Brussels will do more controls.
In parallel, Paris – together with Rome and other partners – has also started an increase in the community budget intended for the Common Agricultural Policy for the next seven years, which has yet to be negotiated. It has also managed to Commission excludes fertilizers of the model that imposes taxes on imports based on their CO2 emissions, with the objective of lower their prices and ease the burden on farmers.
European Parliament Earrings
However, None of this seems enough for the French Government, who hopes the agreement will be derailed in the European Parliament. The pact with the Mercosur countries has two legs. One of them covers exclusively economic and commercial relations. Since trade is an exclusive competence of the bloc, Only the governments and the European Parliament have to give it the go-ahead.
The other leg regulates the political relations between both blocks and includes an investment program. This text also requires the support of national parliamentsa process that can take years. The economic and trade agreement, however, could provisionally come into force waiting for ratification to be completed.
France claims that the Commission wants the text to come into force without waiting for the European Parliament to give its consent. Brussels has neither confirmed nor denied that this is its intention. In parallel, MEPs will probably decide next week if they ask the Court of Justice of the EU to examine the legality of the text. If you do, the process could drag on for months.
A key agreement
The free trade agreement with the Mercosur countries has been negotiated since 1999. Twenty years later, the Commission managed to close a text that never had the support of European governments. After relaunching negotiations with Ursula von der Leyen at the helm of the Community Executive, Brussels closed the deal again in December 2024. It took more than a year for it to be signed.
If completed, the text will give rise to the creation of the largest free trade area in the worldwith more than 700 million inhabitantsand will eliminate tariffs on more than 90% of its bilateral trade. It will also allow improve access of European companies to public tenders and also reduce non-tariff barriers.
The deal also comes at a key moment for the EU. The trade war started by the United States almost a year ago has reinforced the perception in the bloc that trade must be diversified. Washington’s recent intervention in Venezuela also pressure increases on Europeans to strengthen ties and strengthen its capacity for influence in Latin America.
“Es more than a trade agreement based on a partnership between equal parties,” Von der Leyen said last Friday. “We are creating a platform for political dialogue that will strengthen the relationship between Europe and Mercosur and will allow greater harmony with our partners international”, declared the president.
Subscribe to continue reading
