Prime Minister Gabriel Attal reiterated on Friday (January 26) France’s opposition to the agreement between the EU and Mercosur, concomitantly with the sending by parliamentarians of the majority of a letter addressed personally to the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, which Euractiv France obtained. In the meantime, tractor smoke invades major European cities.
For several days, farmers’ anger has been intensifying across Europe. Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Germany, Romania, France and now Belgium, demonstrations are raging everywhere.
Reasons for anger? Low wages, taxes, bureaucracy, standards and above all free trade agreements, the tombs of European agriculture, according to angry farmers.
The EU has just ratified one with New Zealand, signed one with Kenya and is preparing to sign two others with Chile and Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay).
The latter attracts all the criticism, as the planned quantities of trade are gargantuan: 99,000 tonnes of beef imported into the EU per year, 25,000 of pork, or even 180,000 of poultry and sugar.
The European Commission and the members of Mercosur would like “sign the agreement at the next ministerial summit of the World Trade Organization, from February 26 to 29, they say in the corridors of the Commission”after a failure last July, declared Maxime Combes, economist and figurehead of the opposition to the agreement, to Euractiv France.
The French government reiterated its opposition to the agreement as it stands on Friday. French parliamentarians did the same in a letter to the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, and another, which Euractiv France obtained, addressed to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
The government says “no”
The free trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur has been on the negotiating table for around twenty years.
In 2019, negotiators found common ground, before the positions of the then Brazilian president, Jaïr Bolsonaro, cooled European enthusiasm. Last year, the accession to power of the socialist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, known as “Lula”, revived hopes of a rapid signing of the agreement, and in mirror image, the fears of his critics.
After several months of silence, the French executive reiterated its opposition to the agreement as it stands.
“France clearly opposes, as it has done since the first day through the voice of the President of the Republic, the signing of the ‘Mercosur’ treaty”, said the Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal, Friday (January 26), traveling to Haute-Garonne.
Emmanuel Macron had in fact declared his opposition to the agreement without “mirror clauses” in February 2023. The president had, however, not specified how he wanted to integrate mirror clauses into the agreement.
To compensate for fears, the European Commission proposed attaching an additional act to the agreement including environmental and social measures. Except that the method satisfied neither the opponents of the agreement nor the South American heads of state.
Parliamentarians too
In the wake of the Prime Minister’s remarks, more than a hundred parliamentarians from the presidential majority sent a letter directly to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on Friday, which Euractiv France obtained.
The elected officials ask “a firm no from the EU to this agreement as it stands! »declared Pascal Lecamp, deputy of the presidential majority and signatory of the letter, to Euractiv France.
“Three red lines” were asked by French decision-makers: “make the EU-Mercosur agreement subject to compliance with the parties’ climate commitments; not induce an increase in imported deforestation within the EU and condition access of agri-food products to the EU market on compliance with European health and environmental standards via clauses, then mirror measures”.
The co-signatories also insisted on the democratization of the agreement ratification procedure.
The deputies are not at their first attempt, since they had largely adopted a resolution against the agreement last June, followed by senators on January 16.
In parallel with the letter to Ms. von der Leyen, the deputies representing the entire French political spectrum (National Rally, RN, except) also asked Emmanuel Macron, in a letter sent Tuesday (January 23), from “say no to closing the deal”.
Not invited to join the initiative, the RN also opposes the agreement.
“We oppose the agreement as long as we have not created an agri-cultural exception, that is to say more generally the possibility of excluding certain products from the agreements, depending on their impact on agriculture French”, declared Andrea Kotarac, spokesperson for the RN, to Euractiv France. The party is even calling for a moratorium on free trade, he said.
Doubt about Emmanuel Macron’s opposition
For this, it would therefore be necessary to reopen the agreement, which the European Commission categorically refusesjust like Germany, Portugal and Spain.
The Austrian government’s opposition in principle to the agreement is beginning to waver.
French MPs therefore ask Emmanuel Macron to “weigh fully on the European Commission and our neighbors to make them listen to reason”like the Dutch and European parliamentarians.
Opponents of the agreement also doubt the force that the French authorities would use to make themselves heard.
“If France is doing everything ‘necessary’, why did negotiations at the highest level take place on January 25-26 in Brazil?”asked Maximes Combes, on X.
“I think that the President of the Republic weighed all his weight in the non-signing of the agreement last July [lors du sommet entre l’UE et les pays d’Amérique du Sud et des Caraïbes, CELAC] », replied Mr. Lecamp to Euractiv France. Mr Macron’s position “Do not suffer from any doubt! ».
“My ministry will play its full part at the European level. I will continue my fight for trade with fair rules: reciprocity of standards and effective mirror clauses”added Stéphane Séjourné, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Europe, on X Friday.
Download the letter sent to Mrs Ursula von der Leyen here.