German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he expects a quick conclusion to the trade agreement between the EU and South America’s Masur, although French President Emmanuel Macron does not seem to see it in the same way.
Speaking after the EU summit in Brussels on Thursday, Melz said that EU leaders fundamentally agreed that “the Mercosur agreement must now be passed as soon as possible”.
The agreement between the EU and Mercosur countries – Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay – will create one of the world’s largest free trade zones, including more than 700 million people.
It is mainly aimed at reducing tariffs and increasing trade. However, to protect EU agriculture, markets for certain agricultural products will not be fully open.
The agreement has been around for 20 years.
Meles said no leader raised any basic objection, only one small issue.
Macron said his country cannot support the agreement in its current form.
“Because I believe this is consistent with what we have been advocating for years.” Despite Macron’s general support for the trade agreements, he believes they must be fair and coherent.
The French leader said he did not want to fundamentally change the Mersocur agreement, but supplemented it with further discussion. He insisted that if the agreement is primarily stable to agriculture, it must include protection mechanisms that protect key areas of agriculture.
