MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Macron in a rally declares he opposes the trade agreement of EU with Mercosur
The decision follows the defeat of Macron in the municipal elections and the strong advance of the Greens. 
According to Brazil's Valor Econômico newspaper, the attacks in Europe are also growing due to positions taken by President Bolsonaro on environmental issues. 
Before the Citizen’s Climate Convention, Macron promised that there would be no trade agreement with countries that did not respect the Paris Agreement French president, Emmanuel Macron, declared his opposition to the free trade agreement between the European Union (EU) and Mercosur. In addition, 265 civil society organizations were also mobilized against the agreement. The decision follows the defeat of Macron in the municipal elections and the strong advance of the Greens.
According to a report published by Brazil's Valor Econômico newspaper, the attacks in Europe are also growing due to positions taken by President Jair Bolsonaro on environmental issues.
The President of France has already positioned himself in favor of classifying the crime of “ecocide” in international law, to judge, for example, those who do not protect ecosystems.
This time, the mobilization in Europe has grown because Germany, which assumes the rotating presidency of the EU on Wednesday, has as one of its priorities precisely to try to advance in the ratification of the bi-regional agreement.
Before 150 members of the Citizen’s Climate Convention, Macron promised that there would be no trade agreement with countries that did not respect the Paris Agreement.
“I share your proposition, which is why regarding Mercosur, I have canceled the negotiations, and the latest reports submitted to us comfort me in this decision,” he said.
The EU-Mercosur agreement, however, is not paralyzed as Macron says, as the news site Mediapart recalled. Negotiators in the two blocs continue to review the legal part of last year’s commitments.
At the same time, a committee of 265 organizations sent a letter to German Chancellor Angela Merkel and all 27 EU member states to reject the agreement with Mercosur.
Among the entities are Attac, Confederação Agrícola, League of Human Rights, and Foodwatch. The group is trying to take advantage of the loophole opened by the parliaments of Austria, the Walloon region in Belgium, and also the Netherlands, which withdrew their support for the bi-regional agreement.
The entities claim that the EU-Mercosur agreement implies worsening environmental destruction and the climate crisis, by expanding car exports and encouraging the practice of monocultures (growing a single crop) in the Amazon.
Last week, a group of five NGOs submitted a formal request to the EU ombudsman for the rejection of the bi-regional agreement. If the ombudsman agrees to open an inquiry, it will be an important political victory for movements contrary to the agreement. After that, the European Commission would have three months to respond.
Top Comments
Disclaimer & comment rules-
-
-
Read all commentsOf course he’s against it, a big agricultural producer like Mercosur and Europe/France with probably the most inefficient agriculture in the world, certainly the developed world.
Jul 01st, 2020 - 02:58 pm 0If one or more of the national parliaments in the EU don’t kill it, the regional ones will.
No so easy to close a deal with a Hydra like the EU.
“ According to a report published by Brazil's Valor Econômico newspaper, the attacks in Europe are also growing due to positions taken by President Jair Bolsonaro on environmental issues”.
Jul 01st, 2020 - 09:39 pm 0While must admit, Jair Bolsonaro is doing nothing to gain the sympathy of European leaders, Mr Macron - and others - are using him as an excuse to protect their inefficient agricultural systems....he fools no one, because long before Bolsonaro appeared on the scene, Europe had already been dragging its feet for years....similarly, on our side, Argentina's inconsistency didn't help, and in the end it all played into Europe's hands....
If it wasn't the rain forest, the excuse would be something else...
Exactly right, the EU is very protectionist and has bloated sense of its own importance.
Jul 02nd, 2020 - 03:40 pm 0They will do a deal with Mercosur, when Mercosur agree to tariff/quota free imports of EU manufactured goods, with no reciprocation on EU imports of agricultural produce from Mercosur.
Nothing else will get through all the necessary ratifications.
Part of the reason why I don’t expect a UK/EU deal from the current negotiations.
In the unlikely event of the negotiators agreeing a deal, it will never get past the following ratifications process, where every Tom, Dick and Harry will block it for more concessions.
The EU parliament will want more guaranties we are going to be as hapless and inefficient as they are + penalties if not. Spain will want concessions on Gibraltar, Greece will want the Elgin marbles, hell Croatia could hold it up because they are not happy with the EU funds they are getting.
Pissing in the wind dealing with those people, as we say, and count your fingers after you shake hands with them, never wear any gold rings.
Commenting for this story is now closed.
If you have a Facebook account, become a fan and comment on our Facebook Page!