A new round of negotiations between the European Union and Mercosur, the South American bloc composed of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, ended with a new admission of failure on 15 March in Buenos Aires (see EUROPE 12155/31).
For the EU, according to statements by the Commissioner of Agriculture Phil Hogan at Reuters at the end of February, the aim was to settle seven issues relating to cars, car parts, rules of origin, public procurement, maritime services, milk and geographical indications. “Mercosur has not met our expectations on these issues and that is why we do not have an agreement”, Mr Hogan said.
The blockage is therefore confirmed, with sources close to the talks denouncing, on both sides, "pessimistic and hermetic" positions.
On the Mercosur side, the “intransigence” of the European position “on practically all chapters” was highlighted, the local press reported.
This new meeting was also the first since the inauguration of the controversial Brazilian President, Jair Bolsonaro, who has shown his contempt for his country's environmental commitments (see EUROPE 12150/17, 12177/11).
In a reply to a parliamentary question last December, the European Commission specified that the chapter on trade and sustainable development, which will be included in the agreement, would aim precisely to “ensure that investment and trade relations are not developed at the expense of the environment and to encourage complementarity between economic growth, social development and environmental”. (Original version in French by Hermine Donceel)