Farmer protests in the EU have a full impact on the agreement with Mercosur

The delayed negotiations to close the free trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur were left under a heavy blanket of uncertainty, amid protests by farmers in Europe and strong opposition from France.

Recent meetings in Brazil of negotiators from the Mercosur countries (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) and the EU gave rise to optimism about the possibility of an imminent agreement.

But suddenly the European situation cooled the enthusiasm.

“Currently, the Commission’s analysis is that the conditions do not exist to conclude the negotiations with Mercosur.“said this Tuesday Eric Mamer, spokesman for the European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, made up of 27 countries.

“The European Union continues to pursue its goal of reaching an agreement that respects the EU’s objectives in terms of sustainability and that respects our sensitivities, particularly in the agricultural field.”he added.

Mamer assured that the executive vice president of the Commission, Valdis Dombrovskis, remains willing to travel to the Mercosur countries when there is an agreement, “but in view of the latest meetings, this is not the case”.

This position of the European executive branch became known after the president of France, Emmanuel Macron, announced that his government, harassed by enormous protests by farmers, will not support the signing of the agreement with Mercosur, made up of agricultural exporting powers.

On Monday, a French presidential source even claimed that the EU had instructed its negotiators to interrupt the Brazil meetings.

In the second half of 2023, when it held the semiannual presidency of the EU, Spain insisted on closing the agreement, but the efforts were not enough, amid several marches and countermarches.

However, the parties were confident of favorably resolving the pending issues, to the point that there was speculation about signing the agreement on February 15 or even during the ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO) scheduled for February 24 in Abu Dhabi. .

Farmer pressure

Last week the Foreign Ministers of the Mercosur countries signed a Joint Declaration where they defended the signing of the agreement with the EU as soon as possible.

However, the enthusiasm to close a negotiation that has been dragging on for more than 20 years crashed against the massive mobilization of European farmers.

Agricultural producers exhibit a wide range of complaints ranging from the cost of transformation “green” of the sector to unfair competition, which includes products imported from Ukraine and the agreement with Mercosur.

For the Spanish socialist MEP Mónica González, born in Argentina and deeply knowledgeable about Mercosur, it will be impossible to close the agreement in the current legislature of the European Parliament.

In González’s opinion, the EU is “who has the most to lose” if the agreement collapses, because it requires the products that the Mercosur countries offer.

“I believe that through development cooperation there are tools to save”everything negotiated so far, he told AFP.

This Tuesday, Macron stated in Sweden that his government opposes the agreement because “rules that are not homogeneous with ours”.

In France, farmers maintain the blockade of the access highways to Paris and there are also protests in Germany, Italy, Romania, Poland and Belgium.

In Spain, three agricultural unions announced on Tuesday that they are joining the movement, with mobilizations in the “next weeks”.

The EU-Mercosur agreement would create an integrated market with almost 800 million inhabitants.