France warned this Sunday that “an agreement between the European Union and Mercosur is not possible” that puts French farmers at risk, on the eve of the summit of heads of state and government that should approve the free trade pact between both regions in Brussels.
“France’s demands are far from being accepted. And an agreement that exposes our farmers is not possible“, warned the Minister of Agriculture, Annie Genevard, in statements to Europe 1 radio reported by EFE.
French farmers, currently up in arms against the regulations that require the slaughter of cattle herds in which any case of lumpy skin disease is detected, also denounce the free trade agreement with Mercosur for fear of the arrival of cheaper South American products thanks to less strict rules than European ones.
“For us, this treaty is unacceptable in its current form“said the Minister of Economy and Finance, Roland Lescure, in another interview published today by the economic newspaper Les Echos.
Lescure recalled that France has established “three conditions for its agreement: solid and operational safeguard clauses, on which the European Parliament will vote this Tuesday; similar measures to protect our citizens and ensure fair competition by applying the same standards to imported products as to European products; and import controls”.
“We are waiting to see if these conditions are met“, he responded when asked if the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will receive next week the mandate from European leaders to sign the agreement with Mercosur on December 20 in Brazil, as planned.
Lescure has stressed that the European Union is “the main commercial power in the world and is also the largest developed market in the world”, which means trade agreements “can be beneficial as long as they are balanced and everyone respects the rules.”
In his opinion, that basis of balance “is no longer like that. Europe remains open, but also You should know how to protect yourself from unfair practices when necessary. Our challenge today is to move forward with our allies in alliances that benefit everyone,” he defended.
France asks to postpone the signing of the agreement
France asked this Sunday to postpone the signing of the trade agreement between the European Union (EU) and Mercosur, scheduled for the 20th in Brazil, and to continue negotiations on “legitimate” protection measures for European agriculture.
“With the Mercosur summit scheduled for December 20, it is evident in this context that the conditions do not exist for the EU Council to vote on the authorization of the signing of the agreement,” said the French prime minister, Sébastien Lecornuin a statement four days before the heads of state and government of the EU meet in Brussels for their last meeting of the year.
“France can only issue a definitive statement based on concrete, precise and operational elements, not on mere announcements. Therefore, France requests that the December deadlines be postponed so that the work can continue and legitimate protection measures for our European agriculture are guaranteed”,
