U-turn on the EU-Mercosur Agreement. EPP withdraws the request for urgent proceedings

The European People's Party (EPP) withdrew its request in the European Parliament to proceed urgently with the so-called an emergency brake on the EU trade agreement with the Mercosur countries. According to KO MEPs, this is the result of treatments including: Poles and French in the EPP. Polish MEPs announced amendments.

On Tuesday, the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg was to hold a vote on the urgent consideration of the draft regulation establishing the emergency brake. Moments before the vote, EP President Roberta Metsola announced that the proposal on this matter had been withdrawn.

If the proposal was passed, it would allow for the adoption of the regulation this week, which would ultimately speed up the entire process of approving the trade agreement with the bloc of South American countries, Mercosur.

KO MEPs: withdrawal of the application regarding Mercosur is the result of, among others, Polish delegation

The request for an urgent procedure was submitted and then withdrawn by the EPP – the largest faction in the EP, which includes, among others, KO and PSL.

– EPP's decision to withdraw the motion in the European Parliament to proceed urgently with the so-called the emergency brake to the EU trade agreement with the Mercosur countries is the result of our discussion in the faction – the head of the KO and PSL delegation in the European Parliament, Andrzej Halicki, MEP, told PAP. KO MEP Dariusz Joński added that this was the result of, among others, Polish and French MEPs from the EPP.

Halicki noted that proceeding with the emergency brake urgently would not allow for its deeper analysis or the introduction of corrections. As he said, the decision to withdraw the proposal means that the draft regulation on the emergency brake will have to be passed through the European Parliament's International Trade Committee (INTA) as usual.

– The most important thing for us is that the project is now following the usual path and we will be able to present amendments to the emergency brake – emphasized Joński.

The European Commission hopes that the agreement will be signed at the Mercosur summit on December 20 in Brazil. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, is expected to take part in it, as she believes that the agreement will bring great benefits to the European industry. The agreement will open the markets of South American countries to European industry, including: automotive.

Joński believes that considering the emergency brake in a regular, rather than urgent, manner may prevent the European Union from finally approving the agreement with Mercosur by December 20.

Emergency brake – what mechanism is it?

The regulation on the emergency brake was proposed by the European Commission in response to the concerns of EU farmers and some member states regarding the impact of the agreement with Mercosur on EU producers. Such fuses are introduced into every trade agreement, but this time the mechanism is to be faster and simpler.

The agreement with the Mercosur bloc of countries (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia, Uruguay) will establish tariff preferences for certain agricultural products from these countries, such as beef, poultry, dairy, sugar and ethanol. Thanks to the proposed emergency brake, these preferences could be withdrawn if there is a sharp increase in imports or a fall in prices.

According to the draft regulation, the mechanism will be activated at the request of Member States or industry if there is evidence that imports are increasing rapidly or affecting EU markets. For sensitive products such as beef, poultry, dairy, sugar and ethanol, a 10 percent difference between the prices of imported and local products combined with a 10 percent increase the volume of imports on preferential terms or a decrease by 10%. prices of imported products will, in principle, be considered a sufficient basis to initiate an investigation.

Only after the adoption of the emergency brake regulation will both the EP and the member states in the EU Council proceed to approve the entire agreement. The EU Council gave the green light to the emergency brake on November 19. A qualified majority is required for this body to approve the entire agreement (15 member states, representing 65% of the EU population, must vote in favor). Poland and France are the most critical of the agreement. Four countries are needed to block the agreement (the so-called blocking minority).

Magdalena Cedro from Brussels, Łukasz Osiński from Strasbourg (PAP)

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