The EU and four South American countries have concluded a controversial trade deal that was opposed by France and many European farmers, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen announced on Friday.
"This is a win-win agreement," von der Leyen said in Uruguay, where she was attending a summit of the Mercosur bloc involved in the deal, which also includes Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay.
The agreement would create a sprawling free-trade zone of more than 700 million people.
She called the agreement -- which has been nearly a quarter of a century in the making -- "a truly historic milestone" that builds trade bridges at a time when "strong winds are blowing in the opposite direction, towards isolation and fragmentation."
While negotiations have concluded, the EU-Mercosur deal still needs to be greenlit by at least 15 of the European Union's 27 member nations representing 65 per cent of the EU population.
France, which has been rocked by successive protesters by farmers saying the agreement would bring unfair competition, has tried to forge a blocking minority of EU countries.
Poland has rallied to France's side, and Italian government sources say Rome believes "the conditions are not met" to back the deal. The Netherlands and Austria have also expressed reservations.
But Germany, desperate to open more trade opportunities amid gloom for its manufacturing sector, had strongly come out in favour of the EU-Mercosur deal, as had Spain.
Message to EU farmers
The broad outlines of a deal were agreed back in 2019 but it was never ratified amid concerns over the impact of Brazilian farming on climate change, among other factors.
Von der Leyen nodded to that preoccupation, saying: "The EU-Mercosur agreement reflects our steadfast commitment to the Paris Agreement (on fighting climate change) and to the fight against deforestation."
She said efforts being made by the government of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to protect the Amazon "are welcome, and they are necessary -- but preserving the Amazon is a shared responsibility of all humanity."
She also singled out European farmers, telling them: "We have heard you, listened to your concerns, and we are acting on them. This agreement includes robust safeguards to protect your livelihoods."
The deal, once ratified, would allow the EU to export cars, machinery and pharmaceutical products more easily to South America.
In return, Brazil and its neighbours would be able to sell meat, sugar, rice, honey, soybeans and other products to Europe with fewer restrictions.
The treaty aims to eliminate most import taxes between the EU and Mercosur to create a vast free-trade area of more than 700 million consumers.
Sources familiar with the negotiations said the deal would include changes to "several chapters," including government contracts, services, intellectual property and the environment.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday had repeated a warning to von der Leyen that the agreement was "unacceptable in its current state." - AFP
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