France remains opposed to the current draft trade agreement between the European Union and the Mercosur countries, the government said on Friday, pointing to the "major" problem of deforestation, after the publication of a critical report on environmental risks .
The French government is formulating three “demands” to continue negotiations with these countries (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay), including the essential respect of the Paris Agreement on the climate and the alignment of imports with health standards and environmental policies set by the EU.
The NGO heard
Signed in the summer of 2019, but awaiting ratification by the Member States, this agreement "represents a missed opportunity for the EU to use its negotiating power to obtain solid guarantees meeting environmental, health and more generally societal expectations. of its fellow citizens ”, concluded the Independent Evaluation Commission appointed in 2019, in a report published on Thursday.
Its report assesses in particular the impact of deforestation in the Amazon resulting from an increase in beef production.
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"France must block this agreement", had reacted in the wake of the NGO Nicolas Hulot Foundation for Nature and Man, and Veblen Institute.
At the end of August already, Angela Merkel had expressed "serious doubts" about the agreement, following in the footsteps of French President Emmanuel Macron who had threatened not to ratify the agreement if the Brazilian government did not take the necessary measures to protect the largest rainforest in the world.