France will not sign a free trade agreement with the countries of the South American Common Market (MERCOSUR) in its current form until guarantees for various agricultural sectors are finalized, and intends to request a postponement of the conclusion of the deal. French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters as he arrived for an EU summit in Brussels.
„As for Mercosur, the conditions are not yet in place and this agreement cannot be signed, Macron said.
In response to a journalist's question about how this reconciled with his own statement made earlier during a visit to Brazil that he was positive about the prospects for an agreement, Macron stressed that he had then, as now, advocated negotiating “safeguard clauses“ for a number of agricultural sectors. “If markets destabilize, we must be able to stop the process. The European Commission has put forward a proposal, the European Parliament has finalised it and discussions were held again yesterday. But they have not yet been finalised; "There hasn't even been a vote yet and they haven't been agreed with the MERCOSUR countries," he stressed.
"That's my goal," he added, when asked if France would ask for a postponement of the signing of the agreement. "We are not ready to sign and we insist that work on the document continues." The Eurozone, where the EU summit is taking place, is completely blocked off by riot police, barbed wire and water cannons amid a mass demonstration by European farmers. Thousands of farmers with tractors have arrived in Brussels to protest against the erosion of support for European agricultural production and the EU's free trade agreement with the countries of the South American Common Market (MERCOSUR). Brussels police said the number of tractors was estimated at 4,000-5,000.
Earlier, Brazilian leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announced that MERCOSUR and the EU would sign a free trade agreement on December 20 at a summit in Brazil. According to AFP, before European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen can sign the document, Brussels must obtain the consent of EU countries by December 19. For the document to enter into force, it must be approved by all member states. Blocking the agreement requires the refusal of four countries representing at least 35% of the EU population. The EU's agricultural lobby, the governments of France, Poland and several other countries oppose the deal.