France and Spain were still in disagreement regarding the conclusion of a EU-Mercosur free trade agreement, while European trade ministers gathered in Madrid with the long-delayed pact on the agenda, officials from both countries stated.

A Priority

Madrid considers that concluding the agreement with the South American countries of the Mercosur bloc – Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay – after 20 years of negotiations is a "top priority" for the European Union, while Spain holds the rotating presidency of the bloc until the end of the year.

"We have reached the point of making decisions," said Spanish Minister of Trade, Hector Gomez, to Reuters on the eve of the meeting.

However, France, historically hesitant about free trade agreements, advocates not rushing negotiations and continuing discussions.

"We need more time to have this agreement to make sure we can answer Mercosur's questions and have guarantees about the environmental standards we need. It is important to take time," said French Minister of Trade Olivier Becht to reporters on Friday before entering the EU meeting.

European Concerns

The agreement has been suspended since 2019, largely due to European concerns about Amazon deforestation and Mercosur's slow response to a EU addendum proposing environmental guarantees.

"Negotiations are weekly... the dialogue is ongoing," said Gomez, who viewed positively that the main text of the treaty has not been reopened for revision and that only the so-called "additional instrument" is being discussed.

The European Union has been waiting since March for Mercosur's response to attach commitments on sustainability and climate change, and Mercosur finally presented a one-page counterproposal, which formed the basis of discussions in recent in-person meetings in Brasilia.