MADRID/BRASILI: Spain will appeal to President Emmanuel Macron’s ambition to make the European Union a “third pole” in world affairs in its bid to secure vital French backing for a stalled EU trade deal with South America, according to three senior government and diplomatic sources.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez believes he has a window of opportunity to revive the Mercosur free trade agreement (FTA) – which has been frozen for four years – during Spain’s forthcoming presidency of the EU because of his close relationships with Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Argentine President Alberto Fernandez, government and diplomatic sources said.
Sanchez, who will be campaigning for reelection at home, plans to announce the next steps at a regional summit on July 17-18 as his presidency of the EU begins, according to two diplomatic EU sources and two Spanish government sources.
Macron has championed boosting the EU’s “strategic autonomy”. He said in April the union of 27 nations could become a “third pole” in world affairs, alongside the United States and China.
Sanchez will attempt to persuade him the Mercosur pact would help the EU to broaden its alliances with other open, democratic nations and to “rebalance” the geopolitical map, according to two senior Spanish government sources and two EU diplomatic sources.
The EU agreed to the trade deal in principle in 2019 after two decades of on-off talks with Mercosur – which groups Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.
But before it takes effect, blocs are negotiating a so-called “side letter” that pushes for more commitments on climate change and biodiversity. –Agencies
