EU-Mercosur agreement
The European Parliament adopted a report opposing its ratification
Yesterday of the EU-Mercosur agreement in its current form. Anna Cavazzini, Vice-President of the Brazil delegation to the European Parliament, commented:
"This is the first time that the European Parliament has sent such a clear signal that the EU-Mercosur agreement in its present form cannot be ratified by the Parliament. The alarming situation in the Amazon played an important role in the vote.
The Mercosur agreement will lead to increased deforestation in the Amazon and millions of additional tonnes of CO2 emissions.
I believe that the shortcomings of the agreement cannot be mitigated by declarations of intent or other tricks which do not change the content of the agreement itself. Negotiations must be reopened in order to fully integrate the European Green Deal into the agreement, with sanctionable environmental and human rights standards".
Background:
A European Parliament report on the Common Commercial Policy, in which the Parliament expresses its opposition to the ratification of the EU-Mercosur Agreement in its present form (para 36), was adopted on 7 October by 437 votes in favour, 140 against and 124 abstentions.
