Mercosur gives the green light to the agreement with the European Union, awaiting confirmation from the presidents

MADRID Dec. 5 () –

Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) reached an agreement this Thursday to close the free trade agreement with the European Union, waiting for the presidents of the four countries to finish confirming the text.

This was stated this Thursday by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uruguay, Omar Paganini, at the end of the meeting with his Mercosur counterparts at the LXV Ordinary Meeting of the Common Market Council, which will be held from this Thursday until tomorrow, Friday in Montevideo (Uruguay).

According to him, an agreement has been reached after negotiating directly with the Trade Commissioner of the European Union, Maros Sefcovic, who has attended Montevideo together with the president of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen.

The presence of Von der Leyen, according to Paganini, shows “the success of the negotiation” and the support of Brussels in the final stage that will take place this coming Friday.

While waiting for the meeting between the four presidents of the Mercosur partner countries, it turns out that all four have spoken in favor, including the president of Argentina, Javier Milei, whose position on trade matters differs from that of the rest. .

The signing of the agreement will not take place this Friday, because certain formal processes and translations are required, but once the four leaders meet, more details of the agreement will be known.

However, Paganini explained that the points of conflict that were pending in 2019 and that are now closed have been included in the negotiations. “All topics are included,” he expressed at the end of the first day of the summit.

POSITION OF FRANCE

The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, conveyed this Thursday to the head of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, that the potential trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur is “unacceptable” in its current state, a few hours before the start of a key summit in Montevideo.

“We will continue to tirelessly defend our agricultural sovereignty,” stressed the Elysée, which revealed the call between Macron and Von der Leyen once the latter’s arrival in the Uruguayan capital has been confirmed.

However, Mercosur has responded that the approval mechanisms prevent France from blocking this agreement from a formal point of view.