RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Austria intends to reject the planned and already controversial free trade agreement between the European Union and the South American confederation of states, Mercosur.
The EU subcommittee in the National Council voted against the agreement on Wednesday, September 18th, according to Austrian news agency APA.
The government is thereby bound to reject the EU-Mercosur agreement at the EU level and to put a stop to the pact, as decisions in the EU Council must be taken unanimously.
Through the Mercosur Agreement reached in late June, the European Union and the bloc of four South American countries intend to establish the largest free trade area in the world.
This should save €4 billion (R$18 billion) a year in customs duties for EU companies and boost exports. However, the deal must be approved by the national parliaments of the member states.
The fires in the Amazon region and the policies of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, among others, had also led the SPD and Green politicians in Germany to call for a halt to the agreement. German Development Minister Gerd Müller (CSU), however, had argued in favor of sticking to the new free trade agreement.
At the G7 summit in Biarritz in late August, France and Ireland threatened to veto the deal if Brazil did not commit itself to stronger forest protection in view of the fires. According to “Der Spiegel” newspaper, Luxembourg also declared it would “put the procedure on hold”.
Mercosur includes Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. The negotiations have been underway since 2000. With a population of over 260 million, Mercosur is one of the world’s largest economic blocs. More than 512 million people live in the European Union.
According to APA, virtually all parties in the Austrian National Council approved the SPÖ’s (Austrian Social Democrat Party) motion for rejection, including, surprisingly, the ÖVP (Conservative Austrian People’s Party).
The head of the SPÖ faction in the Austrian parliament, Jörg Leichtfried, called the acceptance of the motion a “great success for consumer, environmental and animal protection as well as human rights”. The ÖVP’s approval was surprising, as it had argued against the SPÖ’s proposal during the length of the committee meeting.
FPÖ leader Norbert Hofer said: “The Mercosur Agreement is history”. He referred to the principle of unanimity for decisions within the Council of the European Union. Austrian Green Party member Monika Vana described Austria’s “no” vote as “pointing the way in Europe”: “We now have to exert pressure to ensure that it holds”.