The European Ombudsman has opened an inquiry into the EU Commission’s trade agreement with the ‘Mercosur’. This follows a complaint from several NGOs alleging that the Commission ignored its legal obligation to ensure the trade deal would not lead to social, economic, environmental degradation and human rights violations.

In June 2020, environmental and human rights organisations ClientEarth, Fern, Veblen Institute, La Fondation Nicolas Hulot pour la Nature et l’Homme and International Federation for Human Rights submitted a formal complaint outlining the Commission’s failure in conducting the trade negotiations without fully considering the potential social, economic or environmental impacts. Now, the Commission will have to answer to its conduct, after the Ombudsman this week announced that the complaint is admissible.

“We welcome the Ombudsman’s inquiry into the trade deal between the European Union and Mercosur countries, which was concluded without seriously considering its environmental and social impacts, and without adequately ensuring civil society participation. We look forward to hearing the Commission’s reply to our concerns.”

In June last year, the Commission announced that after 20 years of negotiations, it had reached a trade agreement with Mercosur countries – Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Combined, this group of countries is the fifth largest economy outside the EU, with an annual GDP of EUR 2.2. trillion.

On 18 June 2020, the European Union and Mercosur concluded negotiations on the Political Dialogue and Cooperation - the other two pillars that form the Mercosur Association Agreement with the trade deal.

In the Ombudsman complaint, NGOs highlighted that the Commission concluded the trade deal with only the first phase of the sustainability impact assessment process (out of three) completed. On Wednesday the Commission finally published the draft final report of the sustainability impact assessment. The Commission will hold a Civil Society Dialogue on 22 July.

“The fact that the draft final report of the sustainability impact assessment was only published this week, more than a year after the conclusion of the trade negotiations, calls into question the Commission’s decision-making process. We need the Commission to explain to what extent this vitally important environmental assessment actually fed into the Commission’s policy choices during the negotiations.”

Notes
– With over 260 million consumers and an annual GDP of 2.2 trillion euros, the Mercosur is the fifth largest economy outside the EU.
– If the process is successful, the trade agreement will be the largest concluded by the EU for the population concerned (780 million people) and one of the largest in terms of the volume of trade covered (40 to 45 billion euros of imports and exports).
– The deal should encourage exports by European companies in the automotive, chemical, pharmaceutical and clothing sectors and offer them increased access to the public markets of Mercosur states. In exchange, Mercosur-based companies would benefit, in particular in the agri-food industry, from larger outlets on the European market for their production, including beef, poultry, sugar/ethanol, etc.

About us
ClientEarth is a charity that uses the power of the law to protect people and the planet. We are international lawyers finding practical solutions for the world’s biggest environmental challenges. We are fighting climate change, protecting oceans and wildlife, making forest governance stronger, greening energy, making business more responsible and pushing for government transparency. We believe the law is a tool for positive change. From our offices in London, Brussels, Warsaw, Berlin and Beijing, we work on laws throughout their lifetime, from the earliest stages to implementation. And when those laws are broken, we go to court to enforce them.
The Veblen Institute for Economic Reforms is a non-profit think tank promoting the economic ideas and public policies needed to accelerate the ecological transition.Through our publications and actions we work for a fairer economy that respects the physical limits of the planet.
Founded in 1990 by Nicolas Hulot, the Fondation pour la Nature et l’Homme (Foundation for Nature and Mankind) is an apolitical, non-confessional organisation declared of public interest. Its mission is to work towards a fairer, more united world in the respect of nature and well-being of mankind. The foundation is committed to accelerating individual and collective mind shifts towards an ecological transition of our societies. We believe that ecology should not be a topic amongst many others but instead be placed at the core of both public and private action.
Fern is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) and a Dutch Stichting created in 1995 to make the EU work for forests and people. Our work centres on forests and forest peoples’ rights and the issues that affect them such as EU consumption, trade, investment and climate change. All of our work is done in close collaboration with social and environmental organisations and movements across the world.
FIDH (International Federation for Human Rights) is an international human rights NGO federating 192 organisations from 117 countries. Since 1922, FIDH has been defending all civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights as set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It acts at national, regional and international levels in support of its member and partner organisations to address human rights abuses and consolidate democratic processes.