EU trade commissioner defended Mercosur
Strasbourg (dpa) — European Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič has defended the Mercosur agreement, describing it as “a good deal for Europe,” in the European Parliament on Monday.
The European Union and the Latin American trade bloc Mercosur signed the contested and long-awaited free trade agreement on Saturday.
The parliament still has to approve the agreement before it can enter into force.
During a debate on a motion of no confidence against the commission, Šefčovič promoted the deal.
Šefčovič emphasized the strategic importance of the agreement and argued that it will allow to deepen partnerships and open new opportunities for businesses.
The commission, led by Ursula von der Leyen, is facing its fourth motion of no confidence in around six months.
The latest motion was tabled by the right-wing Patriots for Europe group (PfE), which has criticized von der Leyen and her team primarily for the Mercosur agreement.
Its members include EU lawmakers from French politician Marine Le Pen’s National Rally and the party of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
The vote on the motion is scheduled for Thursday but is widely expected to fail as a two-thirds majority of the votes cast is needed. A previous PfE motion failed decisively in an October vote when 378 lawmakers voted against it, with 179 in favour.
The trade agreement between the EU’s 27 member countries and the Mercosur countries Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay paves the way for one of the world’s largest free trade areas, covering more than 700 million people and a combined economic output of around $22 trillion.
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