The trade agreement negotiations between the EU and Mercosur, which have been going on for several years, are drawing to a close. The negotiating teams have completed their work, according to a source familiar with the matter, confirming reports in several media over the last few days. This does not automatically lead to an official conclusion of the discussions, as a political impetus is needed for this, especially as some final political arbitrations are potentially necessary on the content of the agreement.
This is why the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the European Commissioner for Trade, Maroš Šefčovič, planned on Tuesday 3 December to travel to Uruguay for the Mercosur summit on 4 and 5 December. They hope to use the occasion to announce the end of negotiations between the two blocs.
At the time of going to press, there had been no confirmation of the President’s and the Commissioner’s trip. According to the head of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Trade (DG TRADE), Sabine Weyand, the Commissioner was due to hold talks with his Mercosur counterparts on 3 December. Ms Weyand made a statement to MEPs on the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade (INTA) on Tuesday, without engaging in a question-and-answer session with them.
Echoing the line taken by the Commission’s trade spokesperson, she told MEPs that technical contacts between the EU and Mercosur were still ongoing. According to several sources, the latest news on the situation is being kept at the highest level of DG TRADE and Maroš Šefčovič’s cabinet.
Several MEPs on the INTA committee were said to have regretted the lack of information provided on the state of negotiations and the next steps, especially as their questions remained unanswered.
Differences of opinion on the agreement. MEPs reiterated their position on the EU/Mercosur agreement, highlighting the differences of opinion within most political groupings. Apart from the Greens/EFA and The Left, where the rejection is clear, the political groups are divided between those who support and those who oppose the treaty, depending on their nationality, but also on their proximity to the farming community, which is concerned about the agreement.
Asked by Agence Europe whether there had been any change in the momentum around this issue since the elections, the INTA committee Chair, Bernd Lange (S&D, Germany), replied that he did not believe there had been any major change compared to the previous mandate.
In any case, he said, “it is clear that we need this agreement in the current geopolitical situation”. Within his group, several members stressed that it will be necessary to study the text of the treaty once it has been transmitted, and to base the analysis on the facts. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)