French President Macron criticized the EU for temporarily implementing the Mercosur agreement.
French President Emmanuel Macron declared the EU's decision to temporarily apply the Mercosur trade agreement to South America a "terrible surprise." France has been at the forefront of efforts to oppose the agreement, fearing that domestic farmers would be squeezed out by cheap goods from Brazil and neighboring countries.
According to France 24, French President Emmanuel Macron on February 27 condemned the European Commission's (EC) "behavior" following its decision to temporarily apply the Mercosur trade agreement.
Earlier that day, EC President Ursula von der Leyen said the European Union would implement the massive trade agreement with South America's Mercosur bloc while awaiting a ruling from the Supreme Court on the agreement's legality.
Speaking in Brussels, von der Leyen affirmed: "The Commission will now proceed with the provisional application," while reiterating that member states had granted the EU executive power to do so.
"The nature of the provisional application is only temporary," added Ms. Leyen. "This agreement can only be fully signed once it has the approval of the European Parliament."
In a strong statement, President Macron stressed: "For France, this is a surprise, and a bad surprise," adding that the move demonstrates "a lack of respect for the European Parliament."
"The European Commission unilaterally decided to temporarily apply the agreement with Mercosur, even though the European Parliament had not yet voted to approve it. Therefore, they are taking on a very heavy responsibility," the French President said.
Speaking alongside Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob, Macron affirmed that he would ensure "what we have worked hard to negotiate over the past few months is respected."
The French president declared: "Therefore, I will never defend an agreement that is loose on imports but strict on domestically produced goods, because that contradicts the interests of European consumers and is a crime against European sovereignty."
