Following in the footsteps of the National Assembly in June 2023, the Senate is calling on the French Government to continue to oppose the proposed trade agreement between the EU and the Mercosur countries. This is a strong signal that should help Paris to make its environmental concerns heard with regard to this agreement, against a backdrop of intensifying discussions on ratification before the European elections.

The resolution (1) presented by the former Chairwoman of the Economic Affairs Committee - and now Vice-Chairwoman of the Senate - and the Chairman of the Senate’s European Affairs Committee, highlights the failure to respect the environmental and health red lines drawn by France in the discussions to finalise the Mercosur EU agreement (2). The text therefore calls on the government not to give its approval, particularly as long as mirror measures in the environmental, social and animal welfare fields are not applied, and to continue to demand ratification of the entire agreement by the EU Member States.
At a time when the representatives of the two regions are stepping up their discussions with a view to reaching a final agreement by the end of the European mandate, the united front of French parliamentarians must reinforce the French government’s position that the agreement cannot be ratified by France as it stands. It is important that the French executive officially confirms its position against ratification of this anachronistic agreement, which would have disastrous consequences for the climate and biodiversity.

For the Veblen Institute, "after the election of a climate-sceptic far-right president in Argentina, the current discussions are a real-life test of the credibility of the EU’s commitment to align trade agreements with the Paris Climate Agreement and the other environmental commitments of the Green Deal, particularly in terms of protecting biodiversity".

Notes

(1) The resolution on the Trade Agreement between the European Union and Mercosur
(2) Following the publication of the report by the committee of experts chaired by Stefan Ambec, in 2019 the Government set out three very clear red lines for possible ratification of the EU/Mercosur Agreement:

1. That the public policies of the Mercosur countries comply with their commitments under the Paris Agreement;
2. That the agreement does not lead to an increase in deforestation imported into the EU;
3. That imported agricultural and agri-food products benefiting from preferential access to the EU market comply with EU health and environmental standards.

But over the past year we have seen a rewriting of these three conditions, with some weakening. During her hearing at the National Assembly on 21 June 2023, the Secretary of State for Development, Francophonie and International Partnerships listed the following conditions, which were subsequently confirmed by the Minister for Trade:
– That the Paris Agreement becomes an essential element of the trade agreement
– That the agreement be aligned with the Commission’s new approach to sustainable development chapters (possibility of imposing sanctions in the event of non-compliance)
– That an ambitious work programme on mirror measures be set up in the EU in parallel with the ratification of the agreement.