For the French, von der Leyen’s Montevideo journey is anathema. Hatred of the Mercosur cope with Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia permeates the entire political class. The French worry the accord will undermine their farmers with a tide of low cost poultry and beef from Latin America — and can whip up fashionable rage in opposition to the institution and the EU.
The Paris-Berlin rift is so delicate to the entire EU as a result of negotiating commerce offers is among the most crucial competences entrusted to the European Commission on behalf of all 27 EU international locations. France’s repeated vetoes to the Mercosur deal are infuriating German leaders to such an extent that they’re questioning the purpose of Brussels dealing with commerce, and even counsel it would make extra sense for Berlin to take again management of its personal commerce coverage.
Such a radical clawback of powers — commerce is among the so-called core competences uniting the bloc below Brussels — would increase main questions in regards to the EU’s raison d’être.
Only every week into her second time period, the Montevideo journey is due to this fact a large gamble for von der Leyen, notably given the rising political disaster in France, the place the federal government collapsed on Wednesday night time.
President Emmanuel Macron has campaigned for years to stall the deal. His workplace mentioned he had spoken to von der Leyen on Thursday, telling her that the accord remained unacceptable in its present type. “Without letting up, we’ll proceed to defend our agricultural sovereignty,” the Élysée mentioned.
Whatever occurs in Uruguay, the dangers are rising that one of many EU’s two largest economies — founding members of the bloc that over a long time labored collectively to construct a standard market of 450 million folks — will break ranks and go it alone: Germany to press forward with the deal, and France to insurgent in opposition to it.
