POSITIVE IMPACTS IN THE EU-MERCOSUR AGREEMENT

The EU Commission has published the Sustainability Impact Assessment (SIA) on the potential economic, social, environmental and human rights impact of the Association Agreement between the European Union and Mercosur countries (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay).

The SIA is an independent report, commissioned by the EU Commission to an external body (in this case, the London School of Economics), which takes into account the  contributions of the interested stakeholders and ensures a high degree of transparency. According to the report, the EU-Mercosur agreement will have a positive impact on the economies of both blocs and can contribute to the recovery from the economic crisis caused by the current pandemic and will consolidate a fundamental partnership between the two parties, based on common values. The reduction of non-tariff barriers and the protection of EU geographical indications in the Mercosur market will increase agricultural and food exports, but there are no hidden concerns about the potential impact of the agreement on the environment, human rights and indigenous peoples. It provides recommendations to minimize this impact. The Commission is therefore working to try to make real progress on the commitments on the Paris Agreement and deforestation and is currently finalizing the legal revision of the agreement and finalizing some technical details.