European Commission eyes 12 January signing for Mercosur trade deal after delay
The European Commission is aiming to sign the free trade agreement with the Mercosur countries on 12 January in Paraguay, European sources said on Friday. The signing was postponed on Thursday night, following pressure from France and Italy.
Commission president Ursula von der Leyen had planned to travel to Brazil’s Foz do Iguaçu after the European summit in Brussels to sign the agreement. The trip was cancelled after it became clear at the summit on Thursday that she lacked sufficient backing, with France and Italy asking for more time.
Von der Leyen nevertheless said afterwards that she remained confident the agreement could be signed in January. A Commission source and two diplomats on Friday confirmed a report by specialist news outlet Euractiv that 12 January in Paraguay is now the target date.
The delay came amid protests in Brussels, where thousands of farmers demonstrated against the agreement with the Mercosur bloc of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, warning of unfair competition.
The postponement was a setback for the Commission and for countries such as Germany and Spain, which strongly support the deal. Berlin reiterated on Friday that the agreement, negotiated for more than 25 years, is now inevitable. "The question is no longer if, but when," deputy government spokesman Sebastian Hille said.
No guarantees from Macron
French president Emmanuel Macron is less convinced. On Friday, he said that it was still "too early" to say whether France would ultimately agree to the Mercosur free trade deal. "I hope so, because that would mean we have made historic progress," he said in the wake of the European summit.
"Together with Italy, Poland, Ireland and several other partners, we have also asked the Commission to provide guarantees on maintaining our farmers’ income under the common agricultural policy in the next EU multiannual budget," he said. The French president added that he expects the deal to "change its nature".
Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni, another opponent of the trade deal, said she welcomed the postponement of the signing. "This gives us a few extra weeks to provide the answers our farmers are asking for, the guarantees necessary for our products," she said after the summit.
PHOTO © JOHN THYS / AFP
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