On Thursday 29 February, the European Parliament voted in favour of modernising the Association Agreement with Chile and the accompanying Interim Trade Agreement. These two votes mark the European Parliament’s ratification of the two treaties.
The framework agreement, which includes a section on trade and investment, will also have to be ratified by all the EU’s national and regional parliaments before it can come into force. This is why the Commission negotiated an interim trade agreement (without investment), which falls under the exclusive competence of the EU and can therefore be applied after ratification by the European Parliament and Chile (see EUROPE 13081/19).
This agreement was the subject of intense debate a few hours before the vote. The EPP, S&D and Renew Europe groups broadly supported ratification. Within the S&D and EPP groups, however, the French MEPs voted against, with the exception of Arnaud Danjean (EPP), who abstained.
For opponents of the text, the principal issue was imports of Chilean agricultural products, which they felt would hurt European farmers.
For the Greens/EFA, the main problem is the lack of penalties for non-compliance with the sustainable development chapters.
The European Parliament’s rapporteur for the text, Samira Rafaela (Renew Europe, Dutch), urged the agreement’s detractors to “stop spreading misinformation”. “After every single step in the negotiations, impact assessments and very strong analysis are being made”, she told her colleagues. She also asked: “Do you really think we can produce our food only here on this continent? Do you really think we can get our own critical raw materials?”
Supporters of the agreement have used the argument that Chilean lithium and copper are needed in the EU. “Chile’s abundant copper and lithium resources are crucial to the development of European industry”, said Liudas Mažylis (EPP, Lithuanian).
In the current geopolitical context, Chile was seen by many MEPs as a partner with shared values, with whom ties need to be strengthened. This is the purpose of modernising the framework agreement, which provides for enhanced cooperation on security, sustainable development, environmental protection, climate change, sustainable energy, the rule of law and human rights.
“This is a modern and ambitious agreement that demonstrates the EU’s commitment to Chile and to the rest of Latin America and the Caribbean, and represents a model for future agreements with the region and the rest of the world”, said Inmaculada Rodríguez-Piñero (S&D, Spanish), Chair of the EU-Chile Joint Parliamentary Committee and member of the Committee on International Trade. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)