PRESS REVIEW – If the French media have largely taken up the subject, this is less the case for European newspapers which mainly mention the unrest in France.
“France will not sign [le traité avec le Mercosur, NDLR]»declared the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron on Monday. This sentence was taken up by Le Figaro in his daily newspaper but also by The World which highlighted the anger of farmers. As a reminder, the free trade treaty between the European Union and the Mercosur countries (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia) provides in particular for the elimination of 90% of customs duties between the Old Continent and Latin America.
In Europe, the daily newspapers talk about the discontent of the French. This is the case of the Spanish newspaper The Country which highlights the challenge of French farmers facing “to the government with 85 demonstrations” in the country. Same story in Portugal, Latvia and Luxembourg report French protests without mentioning the opinion of their country. For the Portuguese newspaper morning mailprotests in France will get tougher.
Italy and Belgium also say no
The Belgian newspaper The evening highlights the words of the country's Federal Minister of Agriculture David Clarinval. “Without binding mirror clauses, we will not be able to accept, we will not be able to be in favor of the agreement with Mercosur” he explained during a plenary session in the Belgian Parliament on Thursday, the day after demonstrations organized by the country's farmers.
In Italy, the opinion is the same as in Belgium. “The Mercosur treaty as it stands is unacceptable”explains the Italian Minister of Agriculture Francesco Lollobrigida, cited by The Press . “We must verify that Mercosur countries respect the same obligations that we impose on our farmers in terms of workers' rights and the environment”he added. The Slovak newspaper SME also returns to the words of the Italian minister who joins France and Belgium in opposing this treaty.
Austria and Sweden are for
“France is as isolated in the EU as Macron is in domestic politics”writes the Austrian newspaper The standard . The latter nevertheless recalls that German and Austrian associations do not agree with the treaty, but this is not the case of the government which “sees in the bicontinental agreement a European opportunity to counter the perfectionism of the United States or China”.
Farmers also remain worried in Sweden, but despite this, the government and especially the Swedish Minister for Rural Affairs “remains firmly in favor of the agreement, in particular to give European farmers better export opportunities”writes the newspaper The evening paper . “I don't think long-term protectionism strengthens the agricultural markets of theUE »the minister justifies himself to the daily newspaper.
The signing of this treaty is scheduled for December in Montevideo. To prevent it, Emmanuel Macron must rally at least four countries to his cause and ensure that those in favor do not represent at least 65% of the population of the European Union. He cannot therefore be satisfied with the support of small countries. A vote should first take place within the National Assembly.
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