EU-yes to giant agreement
A sufficient majority of EU countries say yes to the EU’s major trade agreement with South America. But the resistance is still great.
The formal decision was made via a written procedure that concluded early Friday evening. Despite no from, among others, France, Poland and Hungary, the EU countries approve the agreement that has been negotiated since 1999.
“After more than 25 years, today’s decision is a historic step,” said Cyprus’ trade and energy minister Michael Damianos in a statement.
Both Sweden and the EU leadership are jubilant.
The Mercosur agreement is a milestone. It is the largest free trade agreement we have negotiated – four times larger than the Japan agreement (as of 2018), Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic said earlier this week.
Foreign Trade Minister Benjamin Dousa (M) sees Swedish advantages for, for example, the pharmaceutical and automotive industries, lower prices for everything from roasted coffee to wine and, not least, a significantly simpler bureaucracy.
– This opens up opportunities for small and medium-sized companies in Europe and Sweden who may have previously thought it was too technically complicated and did not want to bring in expensive lawyers to get help with exporting to Brazil, Dousa tells TT.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is now expected to go to Paraguay for a formal signing at the beginning of next week.
However, this does not mean that everything is completely clear. First, a majority in the EU Parliament must also say yes, which may take until February or March.
(TT)
