The protracted negotiation for an association agreement between the European Union and the Common Market of the South (Mercosur) faces significant challenges due to ongoing European environmental demands.
Brazil, a key member of Mercosur, has expressed its discomfort with what it perceives as excessively “severe” and “unfair” stipulations put forth by the EU.
The EU’s additional environmental requirements, introduced for ratification of the trade deal with Mercosur – a deal initially signed on June 28, 2019 – have caused apprehension in Brazil.
The country believes these stipulations to be overly demanding and a potential hurdle to operationalizing the agreement.
In the aftermath of a discussion between the EU and Mercosur delegates in Brussels on June 5, Celso Russomanno, Vice President of the Mercosur Parliament (Parlasur), took issue with the EU’s proposed “zero logging” policy intended to combat deforestation.
He argued that local inhabitants who depend on the land for sustenance cannot simply cease all logging, as they often need to clear forests to facilitate farming activities.
Similarly, the President of the Amazonian Parliament, Nelsinho Trad, suggested that a EU working delegation should visit the Amazon region to better understand the ground reality of enforcing a “zero logging” policy – a recurring point of contention in the negotiations.
Arlindo Chinaglia, another Brazilian parliamentarian, stressed the need for Brazil to break free from its insular perspective.
He underscored that the concessions offered to Brazilian agriculture in the deal are relatively modest considering the sector’s potential.
He further expressed concerns over the country potentially facing economic sanctions for environmental and labor infringements if it were to accept the EU’s terms.
Chinaglia took issue with the EU’s updated proposal, which he believes places harsher environmental demands compared to the earlier draft.
The Brazilian government has cautioned that the new text could expose Mercosur to sanctions under the EU’s “extremely rigid” environmental laws, leading to “tremendous harm”.
Brazil’s president, Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva, while visiting Spain in April, stated that the agreement between the two regional blocs remains unacceptable in its current form.
He promised that his government would submit proposals with the aim of making progress by the end of 2023.
In 2019, it seemed that the EU-Mercosur agreement was on the brink of completion, but several European nations declined to endorse it due to escalating deforestation under Jair Bolsonaro’s regime in Brazil (2019-2023).
France, in particular, rejected the agreement in October 2019, arguing that Brazil was not upholding its commitment to the Paris Agreement and was failing to adequately protect the Amazon rainforest.
Subsequently, the European Parliament decided not to ratify the negotiated text.
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