The European Commission believes that "the conditions" for reaching a trade agreement with Mercosur "are not met".
A spokesperson for the EU executive said this during the daily press briefing.
Negotiations with the Mercosur countries "continue" and "the EU continues to pursue its objective of reaching an agreement that respects the EU's sustainability objectives and that respects our sensitivities in the agricultural sector", added the spokesman.
The EU-Mercosur free trade agreement is among the causes that have sparked the anger of European and, in particular, French farmers.
Yesterday the Elysée had indicated the interruption of negotiations to finalize the agreement.
The vice president of the European Commission in charge of trade, Valdis Dombrovskis, "is always ready" to travel to the Mercosur countries (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay) "in the event that a political agreement is reached", underlined the EU spokesperson, reiterating however on several occasions that "at present, the European Commission's analysis is that the conditions" for concluding the agreement, also in light of the developments in the latest meetings, "are not satisfied".
The Elysée said that the French president, Emmanuel Macron, will discuss it with the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on Thursday, on the sidelines of the extraordinary summit on the EU budget.
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