Efforts to Conclude EU-Mercosur Free Trade Agreement Gain Momentum

Efforts to conclude the free trade agreement between the EU and the South American economic community Mercosur are picking up speed again. At the summit of the EU and the Community of South American and Caribbean States in Brussels, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and the current Spanish EU Council Presidency expressed their hope of being able to conclude an agreement in the next six months.

After years of negotiations, a basic political agreement was reached in the summer of 2019 on the establishment of the free trade area between the EU and the Mercosur countries Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. However, the deal is now being questioned again by several EU countries such as France and Austria. Critics fear that European farmers will be forced into a merciless price war in the future and at the same time the destruction of the rainforest in South America will be fueled.

So far, however, the South Americans have not wanted to accept proposals for an additional declaration. Negotiations on a compromise are currently underway. Lula recently called for concessions for stronger protection for smaller Brazilian companies in public tenders, as he expects particularly strong economic growth in this area.

During the tenure of his right-wing populist predecessor Jair Bolsonaro, there had recently been little progress. In the EU, his policies were made jointly responsible for the devastating fires in the Amazon rainforest. After fires in the summer of 2019, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that he would reject the free trade agreement that had already been negotiated.

A few months later, the responsible members of the Austrian Parliament in Vienna also voted against the agreement. Chancellor Karl Nehammer said in Brussels that nothing had changed in his country’s position on the agreement. There are still intensive discussions within the Union.

The EU Commission has been trying to find a compromise for years. She repeatedly points out that the agreement could save companies in the EU billions in tariffs and boost exports.

One thing is clear: difficult negotiations lie ahead. “No major breakthrough” can be expected at the summit, said EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell at the beginning of the summit meeting. “But I expect the will to be expressed to continue working hard to reach an agreement by the end of the year.”

Promises such as those made by Lula, who protested in Brussels on Monday that his country would meet its climate protection commitments and stop deforesting the Amazon rainforest by 2030, are now giving hope.

Spanish Prime Minister Pédro Sanchez, who currently holds the presidency of the EU Council, also expressed quiet confidence: “We hope that we can take further steps in these six months and hopefully come to a positive conclusion during our presidency.”

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar also stressed that there was a prospect of a signing within the next twelve months. “But Ireland is among the countries struggling with Mercosur because we are not convinced it will be strong enough on issues like deforestation, climate and carbon emissions.”

Positions are also far apart in other areas. The second day of the summit will be about support for Ukraine. Many Latin American leaders are calling for peace talks and rejecting sanctions on Russia and clear support for Ukraine. With the left-wing authoritarian states of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, Moscow also has three allies in the region who even openly support Russia.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) expects a free trade agreement to be concluded between the EU and the South American economic community Mercosur in the near future. “I’m very happy that it’s still the case, that many of the Latin American countries are very committed to it, that we’ll soon be able to achieve a good result,” said Scholz at the start of the EU-Latin America summit in Brussels.

“I am convinced that we will succeed.” Scholz campaigned for a partnership with the Latin American countries on an equal footing. Europe also has “something to do with regard to the colonial past”.

This article is part of an automated service from the German Press Agency (dpa). It will not be edited or checked by the idowa editorial team.

2023-07-17 15:05:05
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