Friday

8th Dec 2023

MEP concerns are no setback for Mercosur deal, negotiator says

A strongly worded resolution from MEPs this month outlining their concerns over agriculture does not represent a setback for EU-Mercosur trade talks, the EU's chief negotiator has said.

The comments come as a fresh round of negotiations between the European Commission and the South American trade bloc which includes Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay gets underway in Brussels this week (14-18 March).

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

"We are aware of the concerns, but we have also received many letters of support," Joao Aguiar Machado told EUobserver in an interview on Tuesday.

"I don't think the resolution is a setback. I'm not minimising it, but it certainly doesn't represent a reduction in the commission's commitment to a deal," the commission's deputy director for trade said.

The prospect of a free-trade agreement with two of the world's largest agricultural producers has raised hackles elsewhere in Europe however, with an own-initiative resolution from Greek centre-right MEP Georgios Papastamkos last week gaining widespread support.

In the resolution, euro-deputies criticised what they said was the commission's tendency to conclude trade agreements without taking into consideration the very negative impact these can have on the EU's agricultural sector.

The MEPs also said an impact assessment should be carried before trade talks start, and called on the commission not to pre-emempt decisions on the EU's reformed common agricultural policy post 2013.

Under the Lisbon Treaty, the European Parliament has co-ratification powers with EU member states on all international trade agreements negotiated by the commission.

Earlier efforts to negotiate a free trade deal between the two sides broke down in 2004, with a commission decision last year to restart the negotiations drawing fire from ten EU member states.

The group, led by France, said the resumption of talks sent "a highly negative signal" to Europe's struggling farm sector, while the commission defends a future deal as having clear economic benefits for both sides.

Supporters point to Latin America's six percent growth rate last year, citing increased trade and investment between Europe and the South American bloc as helping to end the EU's current economic malaise.

An EU trade agreement with Mexico in 2000 saw trade increase by 100 percent over the first five years, with investment increasing by 120 percent, says the commission.

European farms groups are worried however that reduced tariffs and greater market access under an EU-Mercosur agreement would see Europe flooded with cheap beef imports, among other products.

"If trade is fully liberalised between the two sides, it is estimated that it would result in losses to the EU beef sector of as much as €25 billion," European farm lobby group Copa-Cogeca said in a recent letter to EU agriculture commissioner Dacian Ciolos.

EU trade commissioner Karel De Gucht has indicated he would like to see the Mercosur negotiations initialed before the end of this year, with issues of market access not on the agenda of this week's discussions.

"It's clear that we have a window of opportunity that will not last for ever," says Aguiar Machado. "Today all our regions are too small to face up to the challenge of China alone."

EU in push to seal Latin American trade deal

In a race against the clock, EU commissioners and Mercosur ministers meet in Brussels to make concessions on beef, cheese and cars in preparation for an "endgame" in trade talks, ahead of Brazil's elections.

EU Commission 'failed' on assessing Mercosur trade deal

The EU Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly said the European Commission was guilty of "maladministration" by failing to make a timely assessment of any environmental impact from the EU-Mercosur trade deal before finalising negotiations in 2019.

EU-Latin America trade talks move to 'endgame'

Senior negotiators in the EU-Mercosur talks will meet in Brussels on Friday to work out the technical bits of a possible trade deal, after top political officials gave the talks a final push.

Spain's Nadia Calviño backed to be EIB's first female chief

With less than a month to go before the start of a new leadership of the European Investment Bank, the world's largest multilateral lender, the path seems finally clear for one of the candidates, Spanish finance minister Nadia Calviño.

Analysis

Is there hope for the EU and eurozone?

While some strengths may have been overlooked recently, leading to a more pessimistic outlook on the EU and the euro area than the truly deserve, are there reasons for optimism?

Latest News

  1. EU suggests visa-bans on Israeli settlers, following US example
  2. EU ministers prepare for all-night fiscal debate
  3. Spain's Nadia Calviño backed to be EIB's first female chief
  4. Is there hope for the EU and eurozone?
  5. Crunch talks seek breakthrough on EU asylum overhaul
  6. Polish truck protest at Ukraine border disrupts war supplies
  7. 'Green' banks lend most to polluters, reveals ECB
  8. Tense EU-China summit showdown unlikely to bear fruit

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  3. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  4. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?
  5. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  6. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  3. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  4. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersGlobal interest in the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations – here are the speakers for the launch
  6. Nordic Council of Ministers20 June: Launch of the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us