The moment of truth has arrived for the EU-Mercosur free trade deal, the moment when Europe must decide whether to sign its most ambitious deal yet, opens at a market of 270 million people … and is committed to multilateralism – in the face of the retreat of the United States – or listens to the calls of its farmers, who denounce the unfair competition that could arise on the other side of the Atlantic if customs duties were removed.
Due to the inability of the community executive to seduce its farmers and France’s skepticism – Macron has big stakes in the countryside – more than twenty years of negotiations end this morning in a meeting of European leaders where nothing is clear. And everything indicates that they must make a decision today, since tomorrow the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, plans sign the agreement at a summit in Brazil, and the most reasonable thing is that he wants to board the plane with the certainty that the text will be ratified by the Council to avoid exposing the Union to international ridicule.
On the other side of the Atlantic, patience is also beginning to wear thin. Yesterday, the Brazilian president changed his previously constructive tone and sent a clear warning to the EU: “I have already warned that, if not now, Brazil would not conclude any more agreements (with the EU) as long as I am president”. “I am going to Foz de Iguazú (the place where the summit will take place on Saturday) with the hope that they will say yes, not that they will say no, but if they will say that we are not going to be harsh from now on, because we have given everything that diplomacy could give,” added the Brazilian president.
A new market
Signing the deal would give Europe’s manufacturing industry access to millions of new customers.
The destination of Lula’s anger is not France, which has never been very close to yes, but Italy, which yesterday put aside the rather ambivalent position maintained until now and chose to extend the pact; and this would be the umpteenth time that this has happened. Yesterday, in a speech to the European Parliament, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said they would only ratify it “when adequate guarantees of reciprocity are included for our agricultural sector.” Meloni made it clear she was not against the text, but said it was “premature” and postponed its ratification “until early next year”.
The tractors arrive today in Brussels
And while this is happening, the land continues to push in the opposite direction. This afternoon, on the occasion of the summit of EU leaders, around 10,000 farmers from across the continent will demonstrate in the Belgian capital. Among them there will be almost 500 Spaniards summoned by the three main agricultural organizations, COAG, Asaja and UPA.
Precisely, the reason for Paris’ skepticism towards the agreement lies in the French agricultural sector, which has so far been the most stubborn in its opposition to free trade and has managed to drag the most right and left parties towards its position. And to President Macron, whose parliamentary weakness prevents him from adopting a front position against farmers in a country where, as Tomás García Azcárate has already explained to ABC, the primary sector has a great capacity to decide elections due to the weight of rural constituencies in the electoral system.
Campaigns fear cheap imports and don’t believe EU promises
Nothing has satisfied the campaigns – neither in France nor in Spain, although the government of Pedro Sánchez is a clear supporter of the agreement -, not even the recent attempts of the Von der Leyen executive to add to the text new provisions to protect the most exposed sectors (beef, poultry or rice, among others), such as a mechanism to restore customs duties in the event of a drop in prices or the promise to increase audits in the bloc countries to ensure their compliance. import regulations.
“I have already warned that, if not now, Brazil would not conclude any more agreements (with the EU) as long as I am president”
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
President of Brazil
It is well known that in countries like Brazil, substances banned in the EU are used, such as growth hormones or certain antibiotics that facilitate the fattening of livestock. So much so that a year ago the Commission had to suspend imports of Brazilian beef after discovering banned drugs in batches of meat. In fact, the EU health authorities’ alert system detected up to four shipments from Brazil containing illegal substances in the last year.
About The Author
