Macron says it would not be “crazy” to move forward with a deal with Mercosur; Lula says the fight is in the EU

BRASILIA – The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, opposed once again, this Thursday 28th, the signing of the association agreement between Mercosur and the European Union, negotiated between the blocs 25 years ago. Macron suggested it would be “madness” to continue negotiations and said they should be reopened to address climate concerns. The Frenchman said he couldn’t be more frank and transparent.

“I have taken a position, a decision in principle that has to do with what Brazil defends at the G20 and COP-30. We are all crazy, because today we conclude trade agreements like 20 years ago. I want to remind you that this text of the agreement has been negotiated and prepared for 20 years, we are making small changes. We are crazy to continue this logic and at the same time hold meetings and say ‘ah, climate, biodiversity, let’s do this and that’,” Macron said, in the Planalto Palace, at the end of the state visit to Brazil, next to the president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

“This agreement represents a brake on what we are doing to eliminate carbon from the economy and fight for biodiversity,” the French president said.

But according to Lula everything is now resolved from the Brazilian point of view. At the beginning of March he said that the country was ready to sign the agreement and that France’s opposition did not matter because the negotiations were taking place with the European Commission.

“Given that Brazil had the right to be against the first proposal, I think it is normal and democratic that Macron has the right to be against it. We will continue to dialogue with the European Union,” Lula said.

Dispute between Mercosur and the European Union

Questioned by Estadao During the press conference, Macron said that Europe has the strictest laws in the world on deforestation and decarbonisation, cited farmers’ protests with tractors in Paris, repeated that he could not “be crazy” to open the European market to South American products that do not follow European legislation. “We are crazy, it won’t work. France fights for mutual clauses.”

Macron hit back at Lula, who accused France of politically blocking the signing of the treaty, and said it was often disagreements between Mercosur countries that delayed progress.

“Many times these are agreements between Mercosur countries that have prevented the signing, I don’t know if you have noticed. Everyone is pulling the trigger on sardines. So it is not a problem between Brazil and France”, provoked Macron.

The Frenchman reiterated that new agreements must be encouraged: “Long live trade agreements that favor carbon-free industry, the protection of biodiversity and not trade agreements that take us backwards.”

After the conclusion of the negotiation of the text at a diplomatic and technical level, in 2019, Europeans began to ask for environmental commitments and guarantees first, during the government Jair Bolsonaroand later, during the Lula government, Brazil raised objections to the opening of the public procurement market.

Last November Macron blocked the signing of the agreement, for political reasons linked to the weight of French agribusiness. What Europeans and South Americans considered an ideal political window has been lost, with Brazil in the temporary presidency of Mercosur and Spain in the European Union.

As for the current state of the deal, Lula said Macron should fight with the Europeans – who are the bloc’s official negotiators – and not with him. In practice, negotiations are on hold due to the timing of the Paris and European Parliament elections, scheduled for June.

“After the European Union’s decision, if Macron has to fight with anyone, it’s not Brazil, it’s the European Union, it’s the negotiators, it’s not me. The agreement proposed now is much more promising to sign than the other “said the PT member.