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In an approach to the main economies of the region, the French chancellor visited Argentina and hopes to reach the Latin American power, Brazil. The Government of President Emmanuel Macron has said that, regardless of what happens with the agreement between the European Union (EU) and Mercosur, which it strongly opposes, we must not rule out the commercial potential that Latin America has and that they will find the methods to achieve future negotiations.
With or without an agreement, France, Europe's second largest economy, wants to take advantage of the commercial potential that the Latin American region represents and plans to develop pacts in which this intention can be made a reality.
On his first trip to Latin America, the French Foreign Minister, Stéphane Séjourné, was able to talk with the president of Argentina, Javier Milei, and put on the table the opening of what he called a “constructive dialogue and cooperation” with the region.
“We will find other elements of discussion. We have bilateral work on political cooperation, on cultural cooperation, on the elements of investment in Argentina that must be discussed with our European political leaders, France obviously, and our respective embassies, and on this issue, we will continue working,” said Séjourné from Buenos Aires.
Useful exchanges with the Argentine President @JMilei.
The relationship between our two peoples is rooted in history and deserves to be developed.
We talked about Ukraine, the Middle East and the relations between Europe and the Mercosur countries. https://t.co/JRD3aKwCLs
— Stéphane Séjourné (@steph_sejourne) February 20, 2024
In addition to talking about the war in Ukraine and the disappearance of democracies in some Latin American countries, the French chancellor was insistent that an absence of a trade agreement “it does not close the door to other things in terms of important exchanges and cooperation.”
Precisely, to continue talking about this issue, Séjourné still has two more days left in Brazil to discuss with his counterparts at the G20 meeting in Rio de Janeiro.
A scenario that will even serve as preparation for Emmanuel Macron's visit to Brazil, scheduled for the end of March.
Why a different agreement?
The EU-Mercosur trade document, negotiated for several years and not yet concluded, has a long list of differences between the countries of both continents.
On the European side, it is alleged that the environmental practices and processes used in Latin American industries do not comply with the regulations of the bloc of 27.
While for the countries of the American continent, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and the recently annexed Bolivia, the EU's demands are outside the achievable range. Besides, For some leaders of the Mercosur bloc, the agreement represents a “waste of time,” as Javier Milei has told the local press.
Meanwhile, within France, rejection of the possible consolidation of the agreement has spread throughout the country.
The country began 2024 with strong pressure from the agricultural sector in the streets and, although the Government has considered progress in the discussions with the European Union and the French institutions themselves, for the citizens of the sector it is not enough.
“What we want today is for them to stop talking and start acting. Saying 'we love them' is very good, but we want them to demonstrate it through concrete actions, through legislation,” said Laurent Depieds, president of FRSEA PACA (French farmers' union in southeastern France).
“Yes, right now we are still angry because we don't think things are going fast enough, although we know that not everything can be solved overnight. “We want to keep the pressure on until this weekend's show to make ourselves heard and understand that we are at a true turning point in agriculture.”defended Laurent Israelian, general secretary of 'Bouches du Rhône FNSEA' (French farmers' union, southeastern France).
With AP and AFP
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