Paris (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The French government is standing with disaffected farmers and other agricultural parties to block the EU-Mercosur trade agreement with four South American nations from taking effect, French President Emmanuel Macron said.
President Emmanuel Macron said his country is still trying to assemble a “blocking minority” within the European Union to stop a trade deal with four South American nations from coming into force.
Our farmers cannot become an adjustment tool,
Macron briefed journalists at France’s Agriculture Show in Paris.
Neither an adjustment tool for purchasing power … nor an adjustment tool for trade agreements,
Macron stated.
This is also why we are opposed to the Mercosur accord in the form that it was signed.
Von der Leyen announced the EU-Mercosur trade agreement at a summit in Montevideo. The agreement would create a massive free-trade zone of more than 700 million people. The agreement between EU and Mercosur bloc members was declared as a “win-win” by EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen in December. The Mercosur bloc includes Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
Which EU countries support and oppose the Mercosur deal?
The agreement has been facing stiff resistance from France and agricultural bodies. European farmers are protesting over supposedly less stringent regulations on the sector in South America; the industry is particularly responsible for destroying vast areas of the Amazon rainforest, which provides an important buffer against climate change.
Although talks have concluded, the EU-Mercosur deal still needs to be backed by at least 15 of the European Union’s 27 member countries, representing a minimum of 65 percent of the European Union population.
Spain, Germany, Portugal and others have accommodated the deal, but France, with support from Italy and Poland, stated from the start that it was not adequate in its current form.
