Germany wants to persuade France over merits of EU-Mercosur deal

The German government wants to convince a hesitant France that the merits of the EU-Mercosur free trade agreement – currently being discussed at the EU-CELAC summit – are worthwhile, Franziska Brantner, the parliamentary state secretary in charge of trade at the Economy Ministry, told EURACTIV in an interview.

Talks between the EU and the South American Mercosur bloc have been ongoing for the past 20 years and ended in a political agreement in 2019. However, with no final text yet signed or adopted despite European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen vowing to finalise the agreement by year’s end, France, Ireland and the Netherlands have been calling for additional safeguards, notably regarding the environment.

“With the Mercosur countries, it is very important to create an agreement that protects the climate and advances trade between us,” Brantner (Greens) told EURACTIV.

Fears that increased imports of agricultural goods from Brazil to Europe could drive rainforest deforestation are at the centre of the discussion as leaders from the EU, Latin America, as well as South America have gathered for the two-day EU-CELAC summit since Monday in Brussels.

As the current stage of the negotiations stands, the European Union wants to negotiate an additional text with provisions for the protection of the rainforest and is waiting for Mercosur countries to present their counter-proposal – delayed due to internal disagreements.

“In particular, we want to anchor forest protection, i.e. protection of primaeval forests, through the agreement. Trade must not undermine climate protection but should strengthen it,” Brantner continued.

But for this, the additional text needs to include binding rainforest rules.

While the South American side is still expected to present a counter-proposal on the wording of the text, “the agreement itself will not be reopened.”

“The EU Commission is working on the best way to make improvements legally binding in the end,” she added.

Debated in France

The EU-Mercosur agreement is particularly controversial in France, where it faces fierce opposition from environmentalists and representatives of domestic agriculture.

In a recent resolution, the French National Assembly called for the addition of so-called “mirror clauses” to the agreement, according to which imports to Europe would be subject to the same environmental and food standards as domestic production.

However, such interference with national environmental standards should not be permitted in Brazil.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva even went so far as to accuse French President Emmanuel Macron of “protectionism” in favour of domestic agriculture.

Therefore, The additional text should also persuade the French government to approve the agreement.

“I hope, of course, that in the end, we will also have France’s voice in this,” said Brantner.

French MPs call to reopen EU-Mercosur trade deal negotiations

French MPs have called for a renegotiation of a free trade agreement between the EU and Latin American countries, despite a push from Brussels to swiftly ratify the deal, which has been on the table for more than thirty years.

Broad support in Germany

In Germany, the EU-Mercosur agreement enjoys broad support, mainly driven by the export-oriented industrial sectors, such as the automotive industry and mechanical engineering.

In a debate in the Bundestag, representatives of the three-way coalition and the conservative CDU/CSU spoke in favour of the agreement, with the CDU/CSU accusing the co-ruling Greens of delaying the conclusion with their demands.

“With a state of negotiations after 20 years, we should still take the time to get something proper done here,” said Brantner in response to the criticism.

Brantner places the blame for the delay on the CDU/CSU parliamentary group. According to her, her party’s earlier positions, which rejected the free trade agreements TTIP with the USA and CETA with Canada, do not contradict her party’s current position.

“I reproached the previous government for not having managed and not having even tried to think about and reconcile trade and climate protection. It played both off against each other,” Brantner told EURACTIV. “And that’s a pity. Without that, we could have launched good trade agreements much earlier,” she added.

Without agreements on climate protection, for example, trade agreements would “no longer be able to command a majority in the EU”, she stressed.

“We cannot work here with our citizens and companies to save as much CO2 as possible to allow CO2-intensive imports and destroy the climate elsewhere,” Brantner added.

“Such a policy would really make no sense. This is not only a question of majorities but also of honest politics. And that is why we have a responsibility there,” she added.

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Calm over negotiations

At the same time, Brantner is relaxed about the current delays in the negotiations.

“We always have intensive coalition negotiations in Germany,” she stressed.

“I know that it is not an easy domestic political situation for the Brazilian side to find a position. Argentina is in a pre-election campaign right now. Who am I to accuse the others of being too slow? That is not appropriate,” she added.

Brantner also expressed hope about Spain taking over the six-month EU Council presidency, particularly as the country counts among the agreement’s supporters.

The Spanish Council Presidency could bring “new momentum” so that “there is a window of opportunity for political weight to be brought into these negotiations once again”, Brantner added.

Spain, Brazil join forces to speed up signing of EU-Mercosur deal

Spain and Brazil have joined forces to make progress on the currently stalled EU-Mercosur trade agreement, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and his Brazilian counterpart, Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, announced in Madrid on Wednesday.

Sánchez (PSOE/S&D) held a joint