On Tuesday 16 December, the European Parliament adopted its negotiating position on the regulation detailing the safeguard clause in the EU-Mercosur trade agreement. Whereas the Council of the EU chose to endorse the European Commission’s proposal without modification, MEPs preferred to amend the text in order to strengthen the protection of European farmers.
The activation of the safeguard clause and, therefore, the initiation of a Commission investigation must be made much easier according to the European Parliament. In addition to the amendments already adopted by the Committee on International Trade on 8 December (see EUROPE 13768/13), further changes were voted in plenary.
The aim is to be able to trigger a safeguard investigation if imports of a product rise by more than 5%, without having to combine this condition with a 5% lowering of the price. The two conditions are sufficient on their own and no longer need to be combined.
Request for greater reciprocity. In an even more symbolic move, the European Parliament voted in favour of including in the regulation the possibility of triggering safeguards or even stopping imports of certain products in the event of “credible evidence that imports benefiting from tariff preferences do not meet equivalent environmental, animal welfare, health, food safety, or labour protection requirements applicable to producers in the EU”.
This amendment – which is rather vague in terms of its wording – is predominantly intended to disrupt the negotiations between the European Parliament and the EU Council insofar as it is difficult for the Mercosur countries to accept, explain two parliamentary sources.
This provision goes much further than traditional safeguards in free trade agreements. “Certain amendments improve the text. In other cases, they will not be easy to implement and it is not certain that they will be compatible with the agreement. We will have to see”, replied Gabriel Mato (EPP, Spanish), the European Parliament’s rapporteur for the text, in response to a question from Agence Europe.
High-speed negotiations. An initial negotiation meeting between the European Parliament and the EU Council has already been scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, “with no time limits”, said Bernd Lange (S&D, German). The co-legislators are hoping to reach an agreement as early as Wednesday so that they can send a clear signal to the EU Member States about the content of this safeguard.
They must vote on the trade agreement without delay (see EUROPE 13773/4). The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, intends to travel to Brazil to sign the agreement with the Mercosur partners on 20 December. For several sources, including Bernd Lange, Chair of the INTA Committee, the agreement is “dead” if it is not concluded this month.
Uncertain positioning. Within the French government, the European Parliament’s vote on Tuesday in favour of a robust safeguard is viewed rather positively, according to our information. However, this does not commit the country to a favourable vote. In any case, Paris will find it extremely difficult to endorse the agreement against the current extremely tense context in the agricultural sector, which is due to the epizootic of Lumpy Skin Disease in cattle.
At this stage, the fate of the agreement seems to be in the hands of Italy, who is remaining decidedly ambiguous about its final vote. A number of observers are suggesting that Georgia Meloni’s government may be satisfied with the trade agreement and the latest elements that accompany it, but that it is using its position to potentially negotiate and obtain concessions on other political issues. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)