EU and Mercosur countries reach political agreement on trade deal
The European Commission has signed a free trade agreement with the Mercosur countries. The agreement, which has been under negotiation for more than 20 years, still needs to be ratified. France, Italy and Poland oppose the current terms of the agreement.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen announced that she finalised negotiations with the leaders of the four Mercosur countries: Brazilian president Lula, Argentinian president Javier Milei, Paraguayan president Santiago Peña, and Uruguayan president Luis Lacalle Pou.
“This is a win-win agreement, which will bring meaningful benefits to consumers and businesses, on both sides,” Von der Leyen said in a press release. “We have listened to the concerns of our farmers and we acted on them. This agreement includes robust safeguards to protect your livelihoods.”
The Commission pointed out that “EU-Mercosur is the biggest agreement ever when it comes to the protection of EU food and drinks products” and that it will “save EU companies 4 billion euros worth of export duties per year”.
Kaja Kallas, vice-president of the Commission, added that “for Europeans, it opens up a vast region to freely trade with, including access to critical raw materials, and diminishes the risk of competitors replacing us in our absence”.
The agreement still needs to be ratified by the member states in the Council and by the Parliament. France, Italy and Poland oppose the current terms of the agreement while Belgium is divided on the issue.
Flemish minister president Matthias Diependaele has indicated that he sees potential in the deal, but Wallonia opposes it, fearing it will lead to unfair competition for Walloon farmers. Flemish farmers have also protested against the agreement.
Argentina's president Javier Milei, Uruguay's president Luis Lacalle Pou, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, Brazil's president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Paraguay's president Santiago Pena at the Mercosur Summit in Montevideo, 6 December 2024 © PHOTO EITAN ABRAMOVICH / AFP
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