Mercosur, France warns EU partners: 'Not acceptable at the moment'

France continues to reject the planned free trade agreement between the EU and the Mercosur states. This was reiterated by the French Minister of Economy and Finance to the German press in recent hours. 'In its current form, the treaty is not acceptable,' Roland Lescure explained to the business daily 'Handelsblatt'. This could jeopardise European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's planned trip to Brazil on Saturday to sign the free trade agreement with Mercosur (an economic bloc bringing together Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay).

According to European sources, EU member states are expected to take a decision on the trade agreement as a whole between 16 and 19 December. However, the Twenty-Seven are awaiting the European Parliament's vote on safeguard measures to reassure farmers, particularly French farmers, who oppose the treaty. This is why obtaining a 'strong and effective protection clause' is part of the 'three conditions' set by France before giving its green light. Another condition is that the standards applied in the EU for production 'must also be applied to production in the partner countries'. Finally, 'import controls' are necessary. In short, warns Minister Lescure, 'until we have obtained guarantees on these three points, France will not accept the agreement'.