The President of the European Commission arrived at the summit of Mercosur countries which opened on Thursday December 5 in Montevideo to advance the free trade agreement with the EU, in discussions for more than 20 years. Before his arrival, Emmanuel Macron “ repeat » that a signature was “ unacceptable as it stands “.
“ Landing in Latin America. The finish line of the EU-Mercosur deal is in sight. Let’s work together, let’s get through it », wrote on X the president of the European Commission who made a stopover in Sao Paulo, Brazil, before arriving in Uruguay. According to the EU, in Montevideo, Ursula von der Leyen will give this Friday, December 6 (at 9:30 a.m. local time, 12:30 p.m. GMT) a joint press conference with the presidents of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, members founders of Mercosur.
Argentine President Javier Milei will also be present to take over the rotating presidency of the South American bloc with the objective of concluding this agreement long awaited by his country’s agricultural sector. “ There are high hopes », recognizes Raul Roccatagliata. As director of the international department of the Argentine Rural Society, he participated for many years in technical negotiations on thefree trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Unionreports our correspondent in Buenos Aires, Théo Conscience. “ From the beginning, the agricultural sectors of Argentina and the region have tried to push for an agreement that reflects the interests of both regions as much as possible. “.
Privileged access to Mercosur countries for European industrial products versus privileged access to the European market for South American agricultural products: for Raul Roccatagliata, everyone is there. He hopes that the environmental demands put on the table by the French president in 2019 will not derail the agreement. “ We all want to achieve the objectives of the 2030 agenda in terms of global warming and carbon neutrality, he explains. But there are multilateral forums specially dedicated to this and let’s debate it within that framework rather than through unilateral measures imposed by a country or a bloc of countries. »
Raul Roccatagliata also recalls that Argentina has already started to comply with European requirements with, for example, the establishment of a new electronic traceability system for livestock from next year.
Waiting for the heads of state
This Thursday, December 5, it was the foreign ministers of the South American economic bloc who officially opened the two-day summit, after a bilateral meeting between the Uruguayan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Omar Paganini, and the new European Commissioner for Trade , Maros Sefcovic. “ We reviewed the situation of negotiations in the European Union and reached a common agreement text », declared Omar Paganini to the press. According to him, “ the presence of Ursula von der Leyen shows the success of a negotiation process and the support for the final stage. Hopefully we can complete the remaining steps, which are very few, because the text already exists “, he added.
In a phone call this December 5 in the morning, Emmanuel Macron has however “ repeat » to Ursula von der Leyen that the draft trade agreement was “ unacceptable as it stands “, affirmed the Élysée. “ We will continue to tirelessly defend our agricultural sovereignty », added the French presidency on X. A French diplomatic source told AFP that the President of the Commission “ takes responsibility and risk » if it concludes the negotiations. “ The final content of the negotiated agreement has not yet been presented to any Member State » of the EU, added this source. The Commission “ must legally obtain the agreement of the Council “, which brings together the heads of state or government of the Twenty-Seven, ” to be authorized to sign it “.
Ratification will have to be done in Brussels
Under the European treaties, the Commission is the sole negotiator of trade agreements on behalf of the Twenty-Seven. Once a possible text is signed with the Mercosur countries, it will have to obtain its ratification by winning the approval of at least 15 member states representing 65% of the EU population, then by gathering a majority in the European Parliament. In Paris, we argue “ that at this stage, it is a finalization of the discussions at the level of the negotiators » : « it is neither the signing nor the conclusion of the agreement “, underlines the French diplomatic source: “ So this is not the end of the story “.
“ Several European countries have expressed the same reservations as France, in particular on agriculture and health standards. France is therefore not alone “, we insist. After the Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who followed in the footsteps of President Macronsaying he would not accept the project “ in this form », Italy has joined the refusal front, just like Austria and the Netherlands who have already expressed their reluctance. “ The conditions are not met » to sign the agreement as it stands, Italian government sources indicated on December 5. To prevent the adoption of the text, France needs to rally three other countries representing more than 35% of the EU population, a threshold which would be easily crossed with the support of Rome and Warsaw.
“ Whatever Ursula von der Leyen’s decision, whether or not she signs the EU-Mercosur agreement as she intends to do, nothing is definitively decided » declared MEP Pascal Canfin, chairman of the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety of the European Parliament to our correspondent in Brussels, Pierre Benazet.
The fate of Mercosur is not in Paris, it is not in the hands of Emmanuel Macron, it is in the hands of Giorgia Meloni in Rome.
For MEP Pascal Canfin, “nothing is decided”
A market of 700 million consumers
The draft treaty aims to remove the majority of customs duties between the European Union and Mercosur in order to create a vast market of more than 700 million consumers. It would be “ largest trade and investment partnership ever seen. Both regions will benefit “, affirmed Ursula von der Leyen. A political agreement was concluded in June 2019, but it was never ratified due to the reluctance of several countries, including France. The details have never been revealed. A large majority of EU member states, led by Germany and Spain, are now pushing to conclude the negotiation as quickly as possible.
The European Commission has been negotiating its terms for almost 25 years. But since then, the world has changed a lot, explains Maxime Combes to RFI. Opposed to the treaty, he is an economist and member of the Stop Ceta-Mercosur collective.
It is a free trade agreement that is completely obsolete.
Economist Maxime Combes talks about an outdated treaty
The agreement would allow the EU, already Mercosur’s largest trading partner, to more easily export its cars, machinery and pharmaceutical products. Conversely, it would allow the South American countries concerned to sell meat, sugar, rice, honey and soya to Europe. In Europe, supporters of the agreement emphasize the need for outlets for exporters and the need not to leave the field open to China, a rival with which trade relations have become considerably strained.
This need is all the more pressing with the return to the White House of Donald Trump who threatens to impose customs duties on European products. But many NGOs and left-wing activists believe that the creation of this vast free trade zone would accelerate deforestation in the Amazon and worsen the climate crisis by increasing greenhouse gas emissions.
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