Argentina asks Von der Leyen for a “balanced” pact with Mercosur in which only the EU does not win

In the second stage in Buenos Aires of his tour to strengthen relations with Latin America, Ursula von der Leyen it has met with new criticism of the EU’s management of the free trade agreement with Mercosur. After complaints from Lula da Silva in Brazilthe president of the Commission has had to listen to the protests of the Argentine president, Alberto Fernandezdue to the agricultural protectionism of some Member States and the new environmental demands that the EU has placed on Mercosur.

Completing the agreement between the European Union and Mercosur -which was provisionally closed in June 2019 after 20 years of negotiations, but which has run aground again in the final phase of processing- is also one of the priorities of the President of the Government, Pedro Sanchez, for the Spanish presidency. In fact, the central act of the Spanish presidency is the summit between the EU and Latin America scheduled for July 17 and 18 in Brussels, but could end in failure if the doubts about Mercosur that Brazil and Argentina have conveyed to Von der Leyen are confirmed.

“We definitely want an agreement with the European Union, but that balances the economies of each of the regions. AND take these asymmetries into accountbecause otherwise what we envisioned at the beginning could happen: that it be an agreement that clearly benefits the EU and does not benefit Mercosur so much, not to say harm”, Alberto Fernández explained at a joint press conference with the president of the Commission.

[Lula se queja a Von der Leyen de las nuevas exigencias ambientales de la UE a Mercosur]

For the Argentine president, the main obstacle to advancing in the free trade agreement was the policy of lack of protection for the Amazon promoted by Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, but it has already been resolved with the return to power of Lula da Silva, who does not share these policies but is a strong defender of the environment.

“That initial problem we had with the European Union has disappeared. Now other problems have appeared, which have to do with the protectionism of some European countries to agricultural and livestock production. And a second problem is a Green Pact signed by Europe for cleaner development, but which inevitably affects the agreement”, Alberto Fernández pointed out.

“On our part, the political will (to reach an agreement) exists. What is it that we ask for? A balanced deal, a win-win deal“, insists the president of Argentina.

For his part, Von der Leyen has insisted that his will is to close the free trade pact with Mercosur as soon as possible, but it has no longer been so categorical about the possibility of reaching a solution by the end of the year. Brussels refuses to reopen what was agreed in 2019, but has sent Mercosur an addendum with new environmental demands, especially in terms of deforestation, and now awaits the response of Latin American countries.

“My objective is to work hard to conclude as soon as possible. We must set ourselves ambitious objectives, for example, conclude the political agreement by the end of the year”, said the president of the Commission. “Most of the work is already done and it is important to use the window of opportunity that we have now to conclude the agreement, because it will be a shame when it is closed again. There is a lot of potential that can be released with the Mercosur agreement: there are 700 million consumers in this area, so it is a great opportunity for citizens and companies”, he argued.

During his visit to Buenos Aires, Von der Leyen signed a memorandum of understanding with Alberto Fernández to strengthen cooperation between the EU and Argentina on raw materials. The Argentine president wants Europe to get involved in the exploitation of lithium, copper or green hydrogen, as well as in the construction of gas liquefaction plants in Argentina.