The additional instrument that the European Commission is proposing alongside the EU/Mercosur agreement has not convinced European environmental NGOs at all. Several of them, led by Friends of the Earth Europe, published, on Wednesday 22 March, the leaked document, which forms the basis of the future additional instrument to be negotiated with the Mercosur countries. According to them, the instrument offers only “cosmetic, aspirational and unenforceable adjustments”.
“There is no new measure included that will address issues of deforestation, climate change, human rights violations, or animal welfare”, said Audrey Changoe, Trade Campaigner at Friends of the Earth Europe.
As we previously wrote (see EUROPE 13139/1), the text repeats and clarifies obligations already present in the EU/Mercosur trade agreement, in particular in its chapter on sustainable development. Some paragraphs in this chapter are even repeated, according to the document published by the NGOs.
The Commission sometimes adds details on the obligations of both parties to comply with the agreement. For example, regarding compliance with the Paris Agreement, the text states that “country governments must stick to their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)”.
On deforestation, the instrument repeats the commitment that both sides made when the EU/Mercosur Agreement was concluded, but also obligations under other international agreements, such as the Glasgow Declaration on Forests and Land Use.
On this subject, however, a numerical target is added to the text: “The EU and Mercosur will set an interim target of reduction of deforestation of at least 50% from current levels by 2025”.
This is not satisfactory for the eight environmental NGOs. They claim that the trade agreement will increase imports of soya or chicken from Mercosur, for example, and that these will increase deforestation.
For the Spanish MEP, Jordi Cañas (Renew Europe), on the other hand, the EU/Mercosur agreement already contains sufficient obligations to respect the environment and human rights. “I visited Uruguay and Paraguay last year, where I met with several actors, and local NGOs tell me that the agreement needs to come into force in order for their governments to comply with its requirements”. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)