France's National Assembly has unanimously adopted a resolution calling on the government to oppose the free trade agreement between the European Union and the South American trade bloc Mercosur, ahead of decisive votes at the European level in December.
The resolution rejecting the Mercosur accord was put forward by the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party.
MPs approved it by 244 votes to one. The sole MP who voted against immediately said she had pressed the wrong button and in fact supported the resolution.
The non-binding text urges the executive to form a blocking minority in the EU Council and to refer the agreement to the European Court of Justice to verify its compliance.
"This is a civilisational choice," said LFI lawmaker Matthias Tavel, condemning an agreement that she called "deadly" for agriculture and the climate.
The EU and Mercosur – comprising Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay – agreed the EU's largest ever trade accord last December, some 25 years after negotiations were launched.
The treaty would increase European exports of cars, machinery and wine to South America, in return for greater access for South American agricultural products (beef, poultry, sugar, honey) through vastly reduced tariffs.
Is France misguided to keep rejecting the EU-Mercosur trade deal?
Safeguard clauses 'insufficient'
France has been a vocal opponent of the deal, which still needs to be approved by the European Parliament and by a qualified majority among EU countries – meaning 15 of 27 members representing 65 percent of the EU population.
Brussels says it strengthened safeguard clauses for sensitive sectors in September, but opponents – notably French farmers – consider these guarantees insufficient.
Adressing MPs, Benjamin Haddad, the minister delegate for Europe, said the agreement as concluded in 2024 "is not acceptable in its current form".
But Haddad stressed that the had secured a "gain" in obtaining a strengthening of safeguard clauses from the European Commission in October. He called for them to be swiftly adopted "before any position is taken by the Council regarding the agreement itself".
"This step forward, useful and necessary as it is, is not enough today. It is not sufficient," Haddad added, underlining two further French demands: "mirror" clauses to ensure fair standards, and enhanced sanitary and phytosanitary checks.
(with newswires)
