It may take all of the next few months before the ratification of the trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur to try and find a majority for or against signing. Although there has been some movement since the European Commission concluded negotiations (see EUROPE 13540/1), it is still proving difficult to find a majority, as demonstrated by a debate among MEPs on Thursday 13 February.
During the vote on another text the previous day, MEPs adopted an amendment denouncing the negative impact of the future agreement on imports of genetically modified food. However, they did not go so far as to approve another amendment which called on the European Commission and the Member States to abandon the agreement (see EUROPE 13578/26).
According to Manon Aubry (The Left, French), who tabled the amendments, the vote shows that “there are serious concerns” and that “there is no majority in favour”. Her amendment rejecting the agreement was defeated by 47 votes.
For the Renew Europe and S&D groups, the situation has changed since the Commission announced that it had succeeded in including compliance with the Paris Agreement as an essential clause in the agreement with Mercosur. The formerly critical voices within these groups are less so, although they want to take their time with analysis.
“We need to make sure that the agreement works not only for the economy, but also for the environment and for workers”, said Kathleen van Brempt (S&D, Belgian). She added that her group would be “a fair partner in this process” of analysis.
The long-standing supporters within Renew Europe continue to defend the agreement: “It is excessive bureaucracy that is affecting our farmers, not free trade”, insisted Germany’s Svenja Hahn (Renew Europe). Her French colleague from this group, Marie-Pierre Vedrenne, who has often been critical of the treaty, is now taking a more nuanced view. Doubts remain about the potential impact of the agreement, according to the MEP, but she says she rejects the idea of “fuelling exacerbated protectionism”. Renew Europe’s French delegation did not support the amendment calling for the agreement to be rejected the previous day.
This should give renewed hope to the members of the EPP, the vast majority of whom are unconditional supporters of the agreement. “We need to create jobs and open the doors to a market of 750 million consumers”, insisted Gabriel Mato (EPP, Spanish), Chair of the Delegation to the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly.
However, for the PfE, ECR and ESN groups, as well as the Greens/EFA and The Left groups, protecting European farmers from an influx of agricultural imports takes precedence over economic benefits. “If the agreement is so good, why are farmers protesting? Are they stupid?” asked Poland’s Patryk Jacki (ECR).
The environmental aspect, in particular deforestation, also continues to worry the Greens/EFA and The Left.
To all these doubts, the European Commissioner for Trade, Maroš Šefčovič, replied that the protection of the environment and workers would be better guaranteed with an agreement than without one. European farmers, for their part, are protected by tariff quotas in sensitive sectors, he pointed out, as well as by a future reserve fund. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)