EU says that negotiations with Mercosur are advancing “at a giant step”

The acting Spanish Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Héctor Gómez Hernández, stated this Tuesday in the European Parliament that there is progress every week “at a giant step” to close this year the annex with environmental measures that accompanies the association agreement between the European Union (EU) and Mercosur.

“The dialogue is permanent, every week we are moving forward, I would say with giant steps, to bring positions closer together,” Gómez indicated before the International Trade Commission of the European Parliament, in which he presented the priorities of the Spanish presidency of the Council of the EU for this semester.

The Spanish minister expressed his “optimism” in the negotiation of the agreement with Mercosur (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay) and made it clear that during the presidency they will multiply their efforts.

“Due to the contacts and the progress that has been made recently, we believe and consider that an agreement can be reached, that an agreement will be reached in this semester” on the environmental annex, he said, in order to have the association agreement completed in 2024, “if possible in the first semester or when the conditions are met.”

He noted that they maintain ambition and realism to achieve this agreement that has been negotiated for more than 20 years.

Last week, the European Commission received from Mercosur its response to the new environmental demands presented by the EU at the beginning of the year, which raise the possibility of imposing sanctions and trade restrictions for non-compliance with its environmental requirements.

The acting Spanish minister assured that “there is no concern” due to statements critical of the agreement from leaders such as the Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva: “We consider it as an opportunity to move the agreement and be able to provoke understanding once and for all”he pointed out.

More advanced are the trade agreements with Chile and Mexico, which Gómez hoped could be signed before the end of the year.

Gómez highlighted the bilateral free trade agreements that the EU promotes with other countries and regions of the world, which offer a “unbeatable opportunity to promote European values ​​outside the Union.”

The Spanish minister stated that the EU faces “crucial months” in a “geopolitical context marked by uncertainty, complex”due to the war in Ukraine or due to the consequences of the pandemic, in which Europe must become the scene of “absolute certainty.”

He also mentioned the strategic competition between the US and China and the instability in Africa mainly due to the latest coups d’état in Sahel countries.

In this context, he assured that the Spanish presidency of the EU will defend the open strategic autonomy of the EU, while the bloc continues to improve access to the resources and raw materials it needs and access to international markets by always applying “the highest standards”.

At the same time, he warned of the risk of ignoring the challenges of globalization and the development of protectionist measures. “which would lead to economic and social regression.”

“At the multilateral level, the need to reform the rules-based multilateral trading system is increasingly pressing in an increasingly polarized world”he warned.

Gómez affirmed that the Spanish presidency “he will spare no effort in this” and what do you consider “priority” the reform of the World Trade Organization and the recovery of a dispute resolution body “fully operational.”

The minister also highlighted the “high degree of economic integration” with the United States and hoped to reach an agreement on critical minerals, as well as a global pact on sustainable steel and aluminum.

As for China, another “top-level business partner” of the EU, recognized that relations with that country are “complex and framed in an increasingly unstable global geopolitical context.”

Regarding security, Gómez highlighted the commitment of the Spanish presidency to protect strategic sectors and, regarding the proposed regulation against goods manufactured with forced labor, guaranteed a “titanic effort” for giving it a boost.

Source: EFE