Just three days into his new job, Maroš Šefčovič, the EU’s new commissioner in charge of trade, is holding “further contacts with his counterparts, also in the next hours,” Sabine Weyand, the EU’s top trade official, told European lawmakers on Tuesday, confirming earlier POLITICO reporting.
On the face of it, Germany — and its representative in the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen — might be about to secure a massive win. This would meanwhile set an awkward precedent for Paris, which has rarely been outvoted on the EU scene.
The “Mercosur summit on Friday in Montevideo is probably the last opportunity for this and finalizing [the deal] now would be a win-win situation for both sides. The president of the Commission has the full mandate to do this and should, in our view, use it accordingly,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Tuesday.
The trade pact, heavily criticized by small yet influential constituencies such as farmers and NGOs, has crystallized tensions among EU countries. Berlin and another 10 EU capitals want to seal the deal as soon as possible, for various economic and geopolitical reasons — ranging from export opportunities to revive Germany’s flagging car industry, or to counter China’s spreading influence in the region.
Meanwhile, France adamantly opposes the agreement, arguing that it sacrifices its hard-pressed farmers to Germany’s industrial interests.
Distracted by domestic political headwinds, and with a government on the verge of collapsing over a budget crisis, French President Emmanuel Macron has struggled to rally enough capitals to oppose the agreement.
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Publish date : 2024-12-03 22:18:00
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