The National Assembly must vote this Tuesday on the treaty with Mercosur. Will their vote have an impact on the future agreement with the European Union?
For weeks, farmers have been demonstrating in the streets to fight against the treaty between the EU and Mercosur. An agreement considered by some to be unbalanced, subject to unfair and unequal competition conditions, according to operators. This Tuesday, November 26, demonstrators got back on their tractors during the debate organized at the National Assembly on the future of the free trade treaty between the European Union (EU) and Mercosur (Brazil, Argentina , Paraguay, Uruguay, Bolivia).
This discussion between parliamentarians, organized under article 50-1 of the Constitution, allows the government, on its own initiative or at the request of a parliamentary group, to make a declaration on a subject determined in advance. The deputies are then brought to debate, and in certain cases – like this one – to vote. At the origin of this proposal is the Minister responsible for Relations with Parliament, Natalie Delattre. Maud Bregeon, government spokesperson, said that Michel Barnier supported the initiative: “It is legitimate that the National Assembly can express itself on the issue,” she declared on TF1.
Parties unanimously unfavorable
However, the debate, scheduled from 3 p.m., is far from stirring up dissension. Indeed, angry farmers receive broad support from different parties, whether right or left. The exchanges should therefore, without too much surprise, be against the signing of the treaty. Despite everything, due to its consultative nature, it has no impact on government decisions.
This detail gives rise to evasive responses from the executive. For example, LR MP Julien Dive questioned the Minister of Agriculture, Annie Genevard on the subject, during the government question session on November 19: “Are you ready to respect this vote and engage a real standoff with the European Commission to defend our food sovereignty?” Stuck, the minister preferred to avoid the question “(This debate) will be fruitful and believe me that we will be very, very mobilized on this issue”.
Despite everything, a massive vote by MPs against the EU-Mercosur agreement would allow France to build a more solid case ahead of discussions with the European Commission, whose negotiations should take place in the coming months. There was already a precedent in 2019, after the vote on a resolution by the National Assembly against the agreement with Mercosur. At that time, Paris had succeeded in influencing the ongoing negotiations, without however succeeding in stopping them.
Within Europe, the issue is far from being such a sensitive subject. For our neighbors, this debate organized by the government is more a matter of national policy. Some countries still join France in its disagreement, such as Poland and Italy. Austria and Ireland could also join the counter camp, but they still have reservations.
To defeat the ratification of the agreement, France must bring together four European countries with sufficiently high population density to prevent its supporters from reaching 65% of the population. If this is not the case, the qualified majority will adopt the text which will pass into the hands of the European deputies. With their approval, the agreement will be generalized to the entire EU.