Germany urges to sign “once and for all” the free trade agreement between the EU and the Mercosur countries

MADRID 19 Nov. () –

The German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, urged his European Union counterparts this Tuesday to close the free trade agreement with the Mercosur countries “once and for all”, and has defended the signing of more deals like this one in the face of a “world (that) is changing.”

“After more than twenty years we must now finally finalize the free trade agreement with Mercosur,” he declared at a press conference from the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, where the G20 leaders’ summit is taking place.

The German has said that these negotiations “are not a good example”, criticizing that they have lasted “too long”. Furthermore, he has argued that the Twenty-Seven need “more free trade agreements” since “the world is changing.”

Although the parties already reached an agreement in 2019, the pact has never been signed due to friction within the EU, with France as the main critical voice.

On Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron said in Buenos Aires that his country will not “sign as it is” the free trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur, and assured that his objective is to “reassure farmers” .

This position of rejection was joined this Monday by the Minister of Agriculture of Poland, Czeslaw Siekierski, who has “unequivocally” opposed accepting the agreement “in its current form”, as negotiated by the European Commission, due to to the “dissatisfaction” and growing “discontent” of farmers, which is “gaining momentum” in the country.

The European Commissioner for Agriculture, Janusz Wojciechowski, for his part has recognized the concern raised by this agreement, although he recalled that the 2019 text is still on the table and that “nothing has changed” in the last five years.