The French President, Emmanuel Macron, insisted this Thursday, 18th, in Brussels, that the European Union (EU) agreement with Mercosur “cannot be signed”, when the European Commission awaits community approval to make the partnership official on Saturday.
“I want to say to our farmers who have expressed the clarity of France’s position from the beginning: in relation to Mercosur, we consider that everything is not right and that this agreement cannot be signed”, stated the French head of state, speaking upon arrival at the European Council meeting in Brussels.
Precisely due to the European summit, hundreds of tractors and thousands of farmers from various countries have been blocking the main roads in Brussels since the early hours of today, in protest against the agreement between the EU and the countries of the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) for having unfair competition, especially in the meat market.
The European Commission is waiting for the signing of the trade and partnership agreement with Mercosur to be approved so that the institution’s president, Ursula von der Leyen, can travel to Brazil on Saturday to make it official.
By qualified majority, the EU Council (the countries) must meanwhile decide on the signing of the agreement, which could then take place on the sidelines of the Mercosur summit, scheduled for Saturday in the Brazilian city of Foz do Iguaçu, on the country’s triple border with Argentina and Paraguay.
This agreement has been negotiated for 25 years.
Last Tuesday, the European Parliament approved safeguards relating to the agreement and this morning, the EU Council reached agreement on safeguard clauses in the trade agreement to protect European farmers from the potential negative impact of an increase in Latin American imports.
France leads a group of countries that oppose the partnership between the two blocs, which Italy recently joined, allowing a blocking minority, which could prevent Ursula von der Leyen from making the protocol official.
After the announcement of the end of negotiations in December 2024, the text has been going through the necessary steps before formal signature, such as legal review, translation and ratification by countries.
The EU and the Mercosur countries are trying to finalize what will be the largest trade and investment agreement in the world, which will serve a market of 700 million consumers, as part of strengthening geopolitical, economic, sustainability and security cooperation.
The agreement covers the 27 EU member states plus Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, equivalent to 25% of the global economy and 780 million people, almost 10% of the world’s population.