For the French, von der Leyen’s Montevideo trip is anathema. Hatred of the Mercosur deal with Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia permeates the whole political class. The French fear the accord will undermine their farmers with a tide of cheap poultry and beef from Latin America — and will whip up popular rage against the establishment and the EU.
The Paris-Berlin rift is so sensitive to the whole EU because negotiating trade deals is one of the most critical competences entrusted to the European Commission on behalf of all 27 EU countries. France’s repeated vetoes to the Mercosur deal are infuriating German leaders to such an extent that they are questioning the point of Brussels handling trade, and even suggest it might make more sense for Berlin to take back control of its own trade policy.
Such a radical clawback of powers — trade is one of the so-called core competences uniting the bloc under Brussels — would raise major questions about the EU’s raison d’être.
Only a week into her second term, the Montevideo trip is therefore a massive gamble for von der Leyen, particularly given the growing political crisis in France, where the government collapsed on Wednesday night.
President Emmanuel Macron has campaigned for years to stall the deal. His office said he had spoken to von der Leyen on Thursday, telling her that the accord remained unacceptable in its current form. “Without letting up, we will continue to defend our agricultural sovereignty,” the Élysée said.
Whatever happens in Uruguay, the risks are growing that one of the EU’s two largest economies — founding members of the bloc that over decades worked together to build a common market of 450 million people — will break ranks and go it alone: Germany to press ahead with the deal, and France to rebel against it.
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Publish date : 2024-12-05 14:40:00
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