On Wednesday 9 July, the European Commission’s trade spokesperson, Olof Gill, reiterated its intention to present the proposal for the signature and conclusion of the EU-Mercosur trade agreement “in the next few days”. According to three well-informed sources, the presentation is indeed imminent.
According to our information, the Commission can count on Mercosur leaders being open to a specific safeguard for certain agricultural products. This is particularly true of Brazilian President, Lula da Silva, who is pushing for the agreement to be signed. The Commission is therefore refining the details of the safeguards requested by France, with a view to presenting the texts in July.
The publication has long been awaited by a majority of Member States and Members of the European Parliament.
For those who are still reluctant, the President of the European Council, António Costa, presented a series of arguments in favour of the agreement to the European Parliament, on Wednesday 9 July: “If we want to export our social and environmental standards, the way to do it is through trade agreements. Because tariffs don’t spread standards. Trade agreements do”, he stressed. The beef import quotas provided for in the agreement represent just 1.6% of European production. “Policymakers should decide based on facts, not on perceptions”. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)