On Monday 29 March, the European Commission published the Sustainability Impact Assessment (SIA) of the free trade agreement with Mercosur, together with its position paper. The European Ombudsman criticised the Commission for not waiting for the study to be finalised before concluding the negotiations on the agreement (see EUROPE 12682/12).
According to the Commission, the study by the London School of Economics “confirms that the agreement will have a positive impact on the economies of both the EU and the Mercosur countries, raising wages and contributing to a reduction in inequalities”.
With two scenarios considered (conservative and ambitious), the study indeed confirms these trends, but stresses that they are limited.
For example, “the increase in real wages for unskilled workers suggests a positive impact in terms of poverty reduction. However, its effect is small in the conservative scenario and only marginally larger in the ambitious scenario”, the report states.
Sustainable development chapters
While the report announces a slight reduction in overall CO2 emissions, it also notes a slight increase in emissions of other greenhouse gases.
The European Commission considers that the sustainable development chapters of the agreement “provide an adequate legal framework and the proper tools to address these concerns”. It adds that it is ready to support Mercosur initiatives for better protection of the environment. “This could be done with an initiative to be developed jointly with Mercosur, in particular Brazil, which could include higher-level political engagement [...], with a possible pledge linked to signature of the agreement”, the Commission details.
See the sustainability impact assessment: https://bit.ly/3rBlXGD
See the Commission’s position paper: https://bit.ly/3fs2wgI (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)