EU and Mercosur countries reach political agreement on planned free trade agreement

(Photo: AI)

According to a statement from the EU Commission, the relevant institutional leaders of the European Union and representatives of the countries of the South American Common Market (Mercosur) – Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela, whose membership has been suspended since 2016 – reached a political agreement on the final text of the free trade agreement after two days of talks in the Uruguayan capital. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, stated at a press conference in Montevideo that the win-win agreement will bring significant benefits to consumers and businesses in both the European Union and the South American countries concerned. The agreement focuses on fairness and mutual benefits, she underlined. “We have listened to the concerns of our farmers and acted on them,” said Ursula von der Leyen, adding that the agreement includes strong safeguards to protect the livelihoods of farmers. She said European health and food safety standards remain intact. Exporters from Mercosur countries must comply with EU standards to access the EU market. The agreement will save EU companies four billion euros in export duties each year, she added.

According to a statement from the European Commission, the agreement will strengthen trade and political relations between the countries of the two regions

It will also support economic growth, increase competitiveness and resilience by opening up trade and investment opportunities. It will ensure sustainable access to raw materials and expand export opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises by cutting red tape. The agreement also represents a significant milestone in the fight against climate change, as it sets out strong, concrete and measurable commitments to halt deforestation. It contributes to increasing EU agricultural and food exports, diversifying supply chains while protecting sensitive sectors. It maintains EU animal health and food safety standards, preventing unsafe products from entering the EU market, they wrote. After the negotiations are completed, the text will be subject to legal review and the European Commission will submit it to the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union for approval.

MTI