The publication of the legal texts of the EU/Mercosur trade agreement is still a few days away. The European Commission planned to send them to the EU Council by Monday 30 June at the latest, and several delegations were already preparing to this end. However, Commission teams were still working on “finalising tweaks” on Monday 30 June, according to one source.
However, European Commission spokeswoman Paula Pinho confirmed that “D-Day” was imminent. “It’s well advanced, it could be in the next few days”, she said of the publication.
However, according to a report in the French weekly Le Point, confirmed by two sources, the Commission is currently working on an additional protocol to meet France’s demands. Paris is calling for the introduction of safeguards on certain sensitive agricultural products.
“I am not currently aware of any additional protocol”, said the Commission’s Trade spokesman, Thomas Regnier, on Monday 30 June.
Supporters of the agreement have a long wait ahead of them. For Jörgen Warborn MEP (EPP, Swedish), the requests for additions to the text are unnecessary. “This is not serious policymaking”. It’s high time to sign the agreement, according to him: “It is unfortunate that we still have not received the text of the agreement. In these tense geopolitical times, time is of the essence when it comes to securing a trade deal that would create the largest free trade zone in the world”. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)