The European Union (EU) and the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) They signed this Saturday a historic free trade agreement after more than a quarter of a century of exchanges for that purpose.
The agreement, signed in Asunción, Paraguay, puts an end to 26 years of bilateral negotiations and should give rise to “the largest free trade area in the world,” according to Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission.
Both parties make up 31 countries, with about 720 million people, and represent about a quarter of the world economy.
The agreement will allow the two blocs to reduce or gradually eliminate tariffs on around 90% of their imports and exports, the agency specifies EFE.
The signature was signed by the European Commissioner for Trade, Maroš Šefčovič, and the foreign ministers of the Mercosur countries, Pablo Quirno (Argentina), Mauro Vieira (Brazil), Rubén Ramírez (Paraguay) and Mario Lubetkin (Uruguay), at the headquarters of the Central Bank of Paraguay.
The European delegation was led by Von der Leyen and António Costa, president of the European Council; Meanwhile, for the South American bloc, the leaders of Argentina, Javier Milei, were present; Uruguay, Yamandú Orsi; and Paraguay, Santiago Peña.
Lula da Silva, one of the main promoters of the agreement with the EU, did not attend due to “last-minute protocol changes,” the press report said without offering details.
Opinions and challenges
During her speech at the official event, the president of the European Commission assured that the agreement between the EU and Mercorsur sends a “strong message” regarding the commercial isolation promoted by some political groups and governments, particularly the Trump Administration.
The agreement, he said, “reflects a clear and deliberate choice: we choose fair trade over tariffs; we choose a long-term partnership over isolation.”
The South American presidents attending the signing also celebrated the bilateral pact and Milei even considered it “the greatest achievement” of Mercosur in its history.
However, the free trade agreement is still not free of obstacles and challenges.
For its entry into force it must be approved by the European Parliament, where it is still not clear if it will achieve majority support.
According to another report of EFEa significant group of MEPs would vote against its ratification, including the French and Poles, following the position of their respective countries on the pact, as well as organizations from the far right, the left and the Greens.
However, the European Commission hopes to be able to convince a sufficient number of European legislators and thus ensure that the recently signed agreement goes ahead.
But even before that vote, the European Parliament could paralyze the agreement’s entry into force until the EU Court of Justice decides whether the way things have been done is legal.
According to EFEthis Wednesday the European Parliament will vote on a resolution that questions the validity of the mechanism that includes the free trade pact and its legal basis, which allows this agreement to be ratified without the consent of national parliaments.
If this resolution is approved by MEPs, then ratification will be postponed until the European court has issued its opinion.
