MADRID/BRUSSELS Nov. 26 () –
The Prime Minister of Poland, Donald Tusk, has confirmed that his Government will not support the trade agreement between the EU and the Mercosur countries in its current form, thus joining a rejection led by France and which keeps the ratification of a pact practically closed at a technical level.
“We are not alone, many Member States have a similar opinion,” said Tusk, before a Council of Ministers that included among the items on the agenda the express approval of a text to make clear Warsaw’s opposition to said agreement. reports the PAP agency.
This formal declaration reflects the Government’s rejection of the results of the negotiations and raises in particular criticism of the increase in the amount of poultry meat that can be imported. The agricultural sector is especially mobilized in Poland and last week there was already a blockade on the border with Ukraine.
TECHNICAL NEGOTIATIONS CONTINUE
The European Commission, on behalf of the 27, and the Mercosur countries undertake this week in Brasilia what the parties trust will be the “last round at a technical level” to close the last obstacles of a new relationship whose agreement has already been announced. in 2019, but whose completion was frustrated by political differences between the two blocs and within the European Union itself.
The outgoing economic vice president of the European Commission and responsible for Trade until this Saturday, Valdis Dombrovskis, said this week after a meeting in Brussels with European ministers that they hope that this round would be the final one before being able to raise the matter at a political level, conscious that the difficulties of the pact will require negotiations at the highest level.
Countries like Spain and Germany firmly defend the need to close a free trade agreement with the countries of the Southern Cone for its benefits for the EU and to not be left behind in the face of rival powers like China; but they collide with the outright rejection of France, whose Government has made it clear that the agreement in its current state is “unacceptable” and seeks in the rest of the EU countries to seek a blocking minority to stop its ratification.
Although the agreement has been on the negotiating table for more than two decades, it remains unknown what the legal basis of the Treaty that Brussels is considering before presenting it to European governments will be, although it is assumed that it is working on a trade agreement of European competition that does not require ratification by the 27 national parliaments to avoid possible vetoes or new delays.
However, the agreement will need to be approved by the Council of the EU by a qualified majority of member states and, after the debate held by the ministers last Thursday, different European sources consulted by Europa Press assure that Paris has not yet managed to add a sufficient blocking minority.
The Community Executive insists that it has the mandate of the 27 to negotiate the agreement and continues with the technical talks, although it also seems clear that even reaching an agreement at that stage it would not move on to political discussion until 2025, in a attempt to gain the support of France and other reluctant countries such as the Netherlands, Belgium or Romania.
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