The decision of the Council of the European Union to authorise the conclusion of a trade agreement between the European Union and the Mercosur countries of South America is undoubtedly 1 of the best news for the European economy and geopolitical position of the EU for years. In a time of increasing protectionism, fragmentation of global trade and rivalry of political blocs, Europe sends a clear signal: it remains open, rational and strategically thinking.
Mercosur, consisting of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia and Uruguay, is simply a block of countries that are diverse but mostly based on democratic values. The integration of 2 large free trade zones – European and South American – means not only tangible economical benefits, but besides a crucial strengthening of the Western position in global competition. It is simply a real counterweight for the economical expansion of authoritarian states, in peculiar China, and at the same time an effective consequence to the increasingly harsh customs protectionism enforced by the United States at the time of Donald Trump's presidency.
It is peculiarly appreciated that the Council of the European Union has not succumbed to force from the agricultural lobby, which, in the name of the narrowly understood interests of 1 industry, tried to block a task beneficial to the full European economy. Mercosur is simply a marketplace with more than 260 million consumers, with a rapidly increasing mediate class and increasing request for European goods: cars, machines, chemistry, pharmaceuticals or processed foods. Today, European exporters face customs barriers of up to 55 percent. The agreement will gradually bring them down, disbursing the liberalisation process for up to 10 years, depending on the sector, with many safeguard mechanisms and quantitative limits.
European farmers are given time to adapt to the fresh reality and South American producers are required to comply with stringent Union standards. The Mercosur Agreement contains a number of clauses protecting the interests of European agriculture. As late recalled by Mateusz Michnik of the Citizens' improvement Forum, many products will be subject to strict quantitative limits, European sanitary requirements will stay in force and the agreement itself will aid diversify supply chains and facilitate access to natural materials of strategical importance for Europe. More competition can besides mean lower food prices for consumers. For Polish agriculture, this would in turn be an incentive to decision towards more qualitative, environmentally friendly and animal welfare production.
However, reducing the debate on this agreement to agriculture alone is simply a major simplification. another sectors are equally important, including the automotive industry. For Poland, production related to the automotive manufacture – especially components for German, French and Italian factories – is the second most crucial branch of industry. This is simply a sector which is experiencing a deep crisis today, mostly due to unthinkable decisions by European regulators. beginning South American markets gives a real chance to diversify exports and partially reverse negative trends.
France, Poland, Ireland, Austria and Hungary voted against the agreement and Belgium abstained. Fortunately, she was supported by Italy, who for a long time hesitated to join the skeptics camp. Without their vote, it was impossible to make a alleged blocking number requiring the support of at least 4 countries representing 35 percent of the Union's population. The Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's attitude surprises again. erstwhile again, a politician from extremist right-wing environments behaved responsibly, not by partying but by a widely understood European interest.
