Macron warns EU-South America deal hinges on environment / Photo: Ludovic MARIN - POOL/AFP
-
British king reflects on colonial atrocities in Guyana
-
Complaints upheld against Swiss TV commentary on Israeli bobsleigher
-
Monaco taken off global money-laundering 'grey list'
-
Canada, EU launch new alliance with deals on Ukraine, minerals, AI
-
Tears, fear, anger: relatives of Spain train crash dead await fate
-
EU and Canada to 'withstand shocks together' with new alliance
-
Wall Street tech rout deepens on doubts over AI spending
-
'Life in the old dog': German economy grows more than expected
-
Relatives' anguish grows as Spain identifies train crash dead
-
Italy inflation surges to 5.4% as economy stalls
-
Markets lashed by tech rout as earnings fan AI fears
-
US oil giants report profit surge again on Iran war
-
Tech sell-off deepens as earnings fan AI fears
-
Carmaker Audi cuts outlook again on China, US woes
-
BP net profit quadruples as Mideast war lifts oil prices
-
German economy logs 0.2% growth, faster than expected
-
Drugs giant AstraZeneca reveals higher profits, savings plan
-
China denies spying on Nvidia's Jensen Huang
-
French economy 'headed for a wall' as GDP shrinks
-
BP net profit quadruples on higher oil prices
-
South Korea to prosecute students cheating with smart glasses
-
Malawi's fuel shortages, record prices deepen economic crisis
-
Shock, vindication, regret: Scientists react to AI roiling life's work
-
The Duskbloods delayed as Nintendo Switch 2 release moves to 2027
-
Britain's King Charles lands in ex-colony Guyana
-
Tech firms take fresh hit as earnings misses fan AI fears
-
Dodging fuel price hikes, Damascus drivers turn to electric cars
-
Nvidia's web of AI bets: smart strategy or bubble risk?
Macron warns EU-South America deal hinges on environment
French President Emmanuel Macron said Saturday that a long-delayed trade deal between the EU and four Latin American nations "is not possible" if they do not follow European environmental policies.
The EU in 2019 reached a trade deal with the Mercosur bloc, comprising Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, after 20 years of negotiations.
However, the deal has yet to be ratified, with concerns over Brazil's environmental record under former president Jair Bolsonaro a major concern. It has also sparked concern among the ecological and agricultural sectors in Europe.
The EU has sought to reset relations with Brazil after the return to office of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who in January called for the deal to be urgently ratified.
France has been the most outspoken EU nation against the hard-fought deal.
"A deal with countries of the Latin American continent is not possible if they don't respect the Paris (climate) accords as we do, and if they don't respect the same environmental and sanitary obligations that we impose on our producers," said Macron.
He was speaking at the annual agricultural show in Paris, a traditional stage for presidents and politicians keen to be seen engaging in rural concerns in a ritual known as "stroking the cow's behind".
The trade pact needs to be ratified individually by all 27 EU member states before it comes into effect.
S.F.Lacroix--CPN