European Commission to Mercosur. He wants to “convince” all EU members

European Commission on the Mercosur Agreement. According to Olof Gill, the Commission intends to persuade all EU countries to agree to an agreement with South American countries.

"In an increasingly unstable geopolitical reality, having strong agreements with trusted partners around the planet that benefit both parties is more crucial than ever," Gill said.

"Therefore, we will surely invest quite a few time and energy in the months to come erstwhile we will finalise the agreement (...) to besides talk to our associate States and tell them that, given what is happening around the world, this is simply a large chance for us," added the spokesperson.

Following the imposition of duties by U.S. president Donald Trump – what he himself called “the day of the liberation of America” – there were voices in the EU about speeding up the entry into force of the Mercosur agreement. The president of the European Council Antonio Costa, among others, called for this. Poland and France, among others, have been against this agreement so far, seeing a threat to farmers.

"Mercosur remains the highest precedence of the EC. We will talk to our associate States in a very orderly and detailed way," Gill added. He stressed that diversifying trade partnerships is the basis of economical strength, especially now. The Ombudsman recalled that the EU has the largest and fastest increasing network of trade agreements in the world, 44 agreements covering trade with 76 countries.

The EC, which is conducting EU trade policy, announced in December 2024 the completion of nearly 25 years of talks with South American countries on the content of the agreement. The political agreement with the EC was concluded by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.

Following a legal review and translation into national languages, the EC will make a proposal to the associate States to ratify the agreement. It's due in the mediate of the year.

Then it will besides be clear what the ratification way of the agreement is. If the EC considers that the agreement is the exclusive competence of the EU, it will only require the approval of the Europarliament and the associate States in the Council of the EU, which decide by qualified majority – 15 countries representing 65% of the EU population. However, if it considers it a mixed agreement, it will besides gotta ratify the paper to the associate States. It is besides possible to divided the contract into a part of EU competence only and a mixed part.

Source: PAP

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