France and Italy ask for “a better balance” of the EU-Mercosur agreement to protect European farmers, even through the adoption of “dedicated clauses,” they announced in a joint statement. France has multiplied European initiatives in recent months to try to block the adoption of the commercial treaty between the European Union and the Mercosur countries (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay), which arouses a strong opposition from the hexagonal agricultural world.
The text provides the possibility that the EU export in particular plus cars, machines or spirits. In return, it would facilitate entry to meat, sugar, rice, honey or South American soy.
Macron ready to sign an agreement before 2026
Benjamin Haddad, a French delegate minister for Europe, met this week in Rome this week with his Italian counterpart Tommaso Foti to “address the possible ways to improve the Mercosur agreement,” according to the joint press statement. “Haddad and Foti ministers share the need to better protect our farmers and our health rules, even through the adoption of dedicated clauses,” explains the text.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, had assured on June 6 that he was ready to sign an agreement with Mercosur at the end of 2025, but subject to a visit to a visit from the Brazilian president in France. Lula had insisted on the need to agree despite the opposition of the European agricultural sector.
Source: BFM TV
