On Tuesday, a vote will take place in the European Parliament (PE) on the “strengthening of safety brakes in the trade agreement with Mercosur”. The final approval of the agreement or its rejection by the Member States will depend on the outcome. On Saturday in Brazil, the agreement is to be signed by the President of the European Commission (KE), Ursula von der Leyen.
On Tuesday, MEPs will vote on a regulation establishing the so-called safeguard clause to the EU-Mercosur agreement with regard to agricultural products. The agreement introduces tariff preferences for exporters of products such as beef, poultry, dairy products, sugar, and ethanol from four South American countries – Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay. The safeguard clause is intended to allow the European Union (UE) to respond when an influx of these goods from Mercosur disrupts EU markets, harming domestic farmers. Polish MEPs are calling for further strengthening of protective mechanisms.
“We hope that on Tuesday in Strasbourg we will take a decision to supplement corrective, monitoring, and blocking mechanisms, if necessary, in situations posing a threat to market and price security for individual agricultural products,” said Andrzej Halicki, head of the Polish delegation in the European People’s Party (EPL) and an MEP from the Civic Coalition (KO).
He recalled that additional mechanisms strengthening the safeguard clause had previously been approved by the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade. The amendments adopted on December 8 are intended to allow for a faster response – in the event of a sudden surge in imports, the European Commission (KE) would be required to react within 14 days rather than 21. Such a reaction would be mandatory when prices of sensitive products in the EU fall by 5 percent rather than the originally proposed 10 percent, with price differences measured on a quarterly basis. If such a disruption occurs, it would be possible to close a single market or the entire EU to imports from Mercosur.
As a source in the European Parliament (PE) told journalists, an additional change is also being pushed that would impose an obligation on exporters in Mercosur countries to comply with EU standards.
Which additional protective mechanisms will ultimately be introduced will become clear on Tuesday during the plenary vote on the regulation. A total of 88 amendments will be put to a vote.
The final approval by the Member States to sign the agreement – or its rejection – will depend on the outcome of the vote in the European Parliament (PE) and the adoption of the safeguard clause. A source in the Council of the European Union said on Monday that a vote among EU capitals would take place before Saturday, so that during the Mercosur summit in Brazil on that day, Commission President von der Leyen could sign the agreement on behalf of the entire Community. This vote is to take place despite media reports that France is pushing to postpone it until next year.
Approval of the agreement will require the consent of 15 Member States representing 65 percent of the EU population – a qualified majority. The agreement will not be adopted if a so-called blocking minority consisting of four Member States is formed.
Poland remains opposed to the agreement, as confirmed on Thursday in Brussels by Agriculture Minister Stefan Krajewski. France’s approval is also still uncertain. French Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pascal Confavreux told Politico on Thursday that Paris remains dissatisfied with the protective mechanisms. Italy, Austria, and Ireland are also mentioned among the skeptical countries.
Two sources also confirmed that Denmark, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, is ready to fast-track the regulation establishing the safeguard clause – negotiations between the European Parliament (PE) and the Council of the European Union necessary to finalize the work could begin as early as Wednesday, the day after the vote in the European Parliament.