“The draft agreement does not provide any discipline against the practices of Mercosur countries in the fight against deforestation,” the French government said in a statement. In June 2019, the European Union (EU) and Mercosur (Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay) announced that they had reached an “in-principle” agreement on the content of a bilateral trade agreement they have been negotiating for more than 20 years. Most of the text of the trade agreement is now public in draft form, although some important annexes and the preamble to the framework are not available. This may be because they are still being developed behind closed doors. At a time when protectionist pressure is mounting, a trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur sends a clear signal to the world that two of its biggest economies are: this agreement is a win-win situation for both the EU and Mercosur and creates opportunities for growth, jobs and sustainable development on both sides. The agreement will allow the EU and Mercosur to cooperate on certain regulatory issues on a voluntary basis. The agreement will create the conditions for European consumers to choose from a wider and more affordable range of products and services. The agreement was denounced by European cattle farmers, environmental activists and indigenous human rights activists. [5] [10] There have been protests against the agreement. [5] [11] Governments and parliaments of EU member states have also criticised the agreement. In October 2020, the European Parliament [12] and EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis [13] declared that the EU-Mercosur agreement “cannot be adopted in its current form”. Mercosur ministers on Wednesday (July 1st) reported progress on the final text of a trade agreement with the European Union, on the eve of a summit overshadowed by French President Emmanuel Macron`s recent comments against the agreement. The agreement aims to protect the lives and health of consumers, animals and plants.
It will strengthen and strengthen cooperation with Mercosur countries to ensure compliance with these high standards. With this agreement, the EU and Mercosur will cooperate more closely within international standards bodies. This would make it illegal to sell imitations. This means that the use of a GI for non-authentic GI products is prohibited and expressions such as “type,” “type,” “style” or “imitation” are not permitted. In addition, the agreement provides protection against the misleading use of symbols, flags or images indicating a “false” geographical origin. For example, no one can name Roquefort unless it is the real cheese produced in Roquefort, France, under certain production conditions. The agreement opens the EU market to products from Mercosur, but limits imports of sensitive agricultural products such as beef, ethanol, pork, honey, sugar and poultry from Mercosur. The right balance is thus found: Mercosur`s exports will not compromise the EU market by unlimited imports into sensitive sectors. Once the texts are definitively and legally revised, they will have to be translated into all the official languages of the EU and Mercosur.
[39] The texts are then submitted by the European Commission for approval by the Council of Ministers of the European Union. Unanimity is required within the Council. If the Council is adopted, it will sign the agreement and pass it on to the Mercosur countries and the European Parliament.