Approving the EU-Mercosur agreement in its current state would set a dangerous precedent for future trade agreements currently under negotiation and would challenge the Green Deal of the European Union. This is the conclusion of an article written for Euractiv by Ana Toni, from iCS, and Laurence Tubiana, chief executive of the European Climate Foundation and France’s climate change ambassador at COP21, in 2015, Paris.
In their arguments, Ana and Laurence reinforce the need for an agreement that is fit for all circumstances, and reflects the intention of the European Union not only to guarantee that trade does not worsen the climate and nature crises, but also works as a lever to raise the ambition towards a low carbon economy. The agreement, as it is currently drawn up, however, shows the opposite: that the EU considers social and environmental concerns to be secondary in relation to commercial gain, and that there is an inherent conflict between the aims.
The article has as a background Portugal’s proposal to ratify the agreement before the presidential exchange in June. However, a complete renegotiation will be necessary before this, add Toni and Tubiana.
