Negotiators for the trade agreement between the European Union and the Mercosur member countries met three times in October and at least once in November to make progress on the sticking points in the text, linked to the environmental issues and standards sought by the Union (see EUROPE 13226/12).
According to several sources linked to the dossier, it was the very recent setback suffered by the European Union in its agreement with Australia (see EUROPE 13282/5) that caused a small shock and pushed the two parties to speed up negotiations.
While divergences still exist, a number of notable advances have been made, particularly on the issue of sanctions linked to the additional instrument on the environment. A mechanism is currently being negotiated that would give both partners the means to take action in the event of non-compliance with standards on either side.
While discussions are progressing rapidly at the technical level, they are slower at the political level. Among the EU27, France, which is notoriously cautious about this agreement, said, through its Trade Minister Olivier Becht, that it was “important to take the time to get guarantees on environmental standards”.
On the Latin American side, it is the forthcoming elections in Argentina that are worrying the negotiators, according to several diplomatic sources. The accession to power of Javier Milei, the anti-system candidate, could seriously jeopardise the conclusion of the agreement, hoped for before mid-December. (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)