Macron deploys all his troops to try to overthrow the trade agreement with Mercosur that Sánchez is pursuing

In the last few days, Emmanuel Macron has deployed all its troops with the purpose of overthrowing the free trade pact between the EU and Mercosur -block formed by Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay-, right in the final stretch of the negotiation. An agreement that has been under negotiation for 24 years and has among its biggest defenders: Pedro Sanchez and the president of the Commission herself. The French president’s overacting actually hides that Paris is this time in a position of weakness and isolation in the EU.

The free trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur – which would create a large market of 780 million people and would save community companies 4,000 million euros a year in tariffsaccording to data from Brussels – has the support of the majority of member states, starting with Germany. The European employers’ association also supports it, BusinessEurope: “It will contribute to economic growth and job creation.”

The pact with Mercosur It was provisionally closed in June 2019but has since run aground again. To respond to the concerns of both parties, Brussels intends to introduce an additional chapter on sustainability (which would address issues such as the fight against deforestation and climate change).

Together with France, The main opponents of the agreement with the Latin American bloc are the agricultural associations of the entire continent. The Spanish ASAJA maintains that the agreement is “incompatible with the European Green Deal” and will particularly harm the citrus sector, of which Spain is the main producer at European level. In recent months, European tractor drivers have demonstrated several times in Brussels against the agreement. And they consider the creation of a “compensation fund” for the affected farmers, as Von der Leyen is reportedly considering doing.

“Our firmness is due to the fact that we do not believe in the pre-agreement (of 2019), as negotiated. Firstly, because it comes from very far away. Furthermore, it does not take into account all the evolution that we have made in our own markets For Argentina, it would be very bad for its reindustrialization and for us it would be very bad for our agriculture,” Macron said this weekend in Buenos Aires after meeting with the president. Javier Milei.

“We cannot ask our farmers in Europe to change their practices, to do without certain phytosanitary products, to have what is our pride, high quality agriculture, and at the same time open our market to massive imports of products that would not respect the same criteria“argues the French president. The Government of Paris is negotiating against the clock with the Netherlands, Italy or Poland in order to build that blocking minority.

For the Spanish Minister of Agriculture, Luis PlanasFrench concerns are not at all justified. “There is a certain mythology around Mercosur which does not seem to me to be appropriate to the reality of what the agreement is or to the moment we are living in,” said Planas in Brussels, where he participated in the EU Agriculture Council.

“Is the EU interested in closing in on itself at this time? Or is it interested in this geopolitical context that we are experiencing (and particularly after the North American elections) in expanding the network of our trade agreements with third countries to maintain our economic and commercial influence? I think the answer is very clear. Of course, Spain is very clear about it. From the beginning,” says the Minister of Agriculture.

The geopolitical argument has also been put forward by Ursula von der Leyen to justify the urgency of closing the pact. “A free trade agreement with Mercosur would create a market of more than 700 million people, which represents a huge opportunity for companies, but also for citizens. The figures show how intense trade between our two regions already is.“, he explained in an interview with Brazilian television Globo.

“But there is also a political dimension that is also important because we have like ideas, we share the same values, we protect multilateralism in our worldFor example. So it would send a powerful message from both regions to support each other. in these difficult times”, Von der Leyen maintainswho has been personally involved in the negotiations with the leaders of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay.

The president of the Commission made these statements just before the start of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, which both Macron and Sánchez are attending. Brussels rules out that the agreement with Mercosur can be closed during this meeting. “As we all know, the devil is in the details. The final stretch is the most important, but also the most difficult“, Von der Leyen justifies. The last opportunity will be during the Mercosur summit held in Uruguay on December 5 and 6. By then it will be known whether Macron’s efforts to overthrow the agreement are successful or not.