President of the EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen wants to postpone its plans to sign the trade agreement with the South American Mercosur states until next year. Von der Leyen said this to the EU heads of state and government at the summit in Brussels, as the AFP news agency reported, citing several diplomats. According to information from the dpa news agency, an EU official also announced the postponement on the sidelines of the summit.
Von der Leyen actually wanted the free trade agreement
EU with the Mercosur states Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay at a summit in Brazil on Saturday. However, this requires approval from the Council of 27 EU countries. So far there is a blocking minority from France, Italy, Poland and Hungary.
EU states disagree about the agreement
Brazil had previously been under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has already shown itself open to a delay in order to give the EU, which is divided over the issue, further time to think about it at Italy’s request. Lula told the press that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had asked him for “one week, ten days, a maximum of one month” to think about it, after which Italy would be ready to sign.
Italy has a key role to play in the issue, as the other countries are unlikely to change their minds. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni does not rule out the agreement in principle, however, has postponed a signing this week for the time being. The Italian government said it was ready to sign “as soon as farmers get the necessary answers.”
At the EU summit in Brussels, Chancellor Friedrich Merz, as did Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Portugal’s Prime Minister Luís Montenegro, urged a quick conclusion. “I very much hope that we can achieve this approval today and tomorrow,” said Merz at the start of the summit planned for two days. However, he expects “a longer discussion” with the critics of the agreement.
French farmers fear depressed prices
French President Emmanuel Macron, however, reiterated his negative stance. “This agreement cannot be signed,” said Macron in Brussels. “We’re not ready, the calculation doesn’t add up.” The EU must not sacrifice the interests of agriculture for the agreement, said Macron. The French government is linking its approval to protective clauses for farmers. A broad majority of the French population and politicians are clearly against the agreement.
Representatives of the European Parliament and the EU member states have already agreed on a protective regulationwhich is intended to enable tariffs to be reintroduced in the face of sharply increasing imports from the Mercosur states and depressed prices in the EU. However, these promises do not go far enough for French farmers. Thousands of farmers recently demonstrated against the agreement in Brussels, some of the protests turned violent.
The Mercosur agreement provides for the abolition of tariffs on around 91 percent of trade in goods between the EU and the Mercosur states. According to calculations by the EU Commission, European exports to South America could increase by up to 39 percent annually. The EU would mainly export industrial goods such as cars and chemical products, while the Mercosur countries mainly deliver agricultural products and raw materials. The agreement would create the largest trading area in the world with more than 720 million people. It would cover almost 20 percent of the global economy and more than 31 percent of global goods exports.
