During the Summit of Latin America, the Caribbean and the EU (European Union), held in Rio de Janeiro, between June and July 1999, negotiations between Mercosur and the European bloc were launched.
At the beginning, the assessment was that the negotiations would be long and difficult.
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Initially, with the completion of internal procedures and the formal exchange of notifications between the parties, the commercial part of the treaty comes into force, which facilitates exchanges between the parties.
The political and cooperation pillars of the agreement, however, require complete ratification by all European Union countries, which is still unknown.
How did the free trade agreement come about?
Initially, the interest was in the complementarity that the parties had to offer each other: while Mercosur has strong opportunities in agribusiness — mainly due to Brazil —, the EU has a more robust industry — led by Germany.
Over the years, German industry was unable to keep pace and remain competitive against Chinese industry. Thus, on the one hand, the urgency to expand the market emerged.
Meanwhile, French agribusiness made Europe its main client, but did not evolve enough to compare with Brazilian agribusiness. So, on the other side, .
Two decades of discussions
The debate lasted for 25 years until, in December 2024, in Montevideo, capital of Uruguay, which hosted the bloc’s Summit of Heads of State.
The expectation was that the agreement would be signed in 2025, however due to resistance from some member countries, mainly France and Italy, who asked for the vote in the European Council to be postponed.
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Still, before coming into force, the agreement requires ratification by the Legislature of member countries on both sides, a process that faces widespread resistance in Europe.
After the signing, the resistant parties tried to put pressure on it.
Obstacles and provisional agreement
At the beginning of the year, in the midst of the agreement being processed, , the Belgian capital that hosts the European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Council.
To move the agreement forward, the European Parliament approved a .
In a note, the organization reported that the standard provides for “additional guarantees for sensitive agricultural products, such as beef and poultry.”
Throughout the discussion, while the Italian position fluctuated. Initially in favor of the agreement, Rome began to present new demands during the negotiation rounds and, at times, .
Finally, the European Council gave the green light to approve the free trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union. The advance occurred despite disagreements on the part of France, Poland and Ireland.
But without final ratification by the European Parliament, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, called for at least one country from the South American bloc to ratify the agreement.
The treaty advanced quickly through the four Mercosur member countries: the first to ratify the agreement; secondly; and .
