EU leaders at a Brussels summit decided on Thursday to postpone the signing of a trade deal with four Mercosur countries until January. This means that despite 25 years of negotiations, the sides are close, yet there is no consensus.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Friday she was confident the delay would give negotiators time to find a compromise.
“We have contacted our Mercosur partners and agreed to slightly postpone the signing,” von der Leyen said. He described the deal as “crucial for Europe – economically, diplomatically and geopolitically”.
What is the Mercosur deal and why is it being opposed?
The free trade agreement aims to increase trade between the South American and European economic blocs, but some key EU countries view it critically.
Supporters of the agreement include Germany, Spain and the Nordic countries. They argue that this will increase the pain of exports under US tariffs and reduce dependence on Beijing.
However, critics including France, Italy and Poland are wary of the influx of cheap goods and its impact on European farmers.
The negotiations were accompanied by mass protests, primarily from European farmers.
“We are working to postpone the Mercosur summit, which will give us more weeks to respond to the demands of our farmers and the necessary protection measures for our products,” Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Friday.
“This will allow us to ratify the Mercosur agreement when, as we have said, we have all the guarantees we need for the region that might otherwise be affected.”
Macron on Mercosur: ‘There has been a lot of improvement,’ but not ready to sign
French President Emmanuel Macron said he is not yet ready to sign agreements with Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, despite efforts to include new protection measures for European farmers.
“There has been a lot of improvement,” Macron said, adding that security measures had not been finalized or coordinated with Latin American countries.
Safeguard measures would give the EU the power to temporarily re-impose tariffs or bans on certain agricultural products if it is deemed harmful to EU producers. These include a sharp fall in prices or an increase in overall import levels.
Macron said France demands work to continue, “so that things are taken seriously, our agriculture is respected and the food security of our citizens is guaranteed throughout Europe.”
Macron said it was too early to say whether an extra month would be enough to close a deal, but hoped it would.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was scheduled to skip the EU summit this Saturday and fly straight to Brazil for a signing ceremony with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. This now appears to be under doubt.
Meanwhile, farmers protested in Brussels on Thursday amid the summit, against possible reforms to the planned trade deal and subsidies in the EU’s common agricultural policy.
Edited by: Rana Taha