Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, February 23rd
French President Emmanuel Macron said on the 22nd that France is still trying to form a "blocking minority" within the European Union to prevent the entry into force of the EU-Mercosur Free Trade Agreement.

Speaking to media at the opening of the French Agricultural Show on the same day, Macron said that French farmers should not be used as a "tool," "neither as an instrument for adjusting purchasing power... nor as an instrument for adjusting trade agreements." "This is also the reason we oppose the current text of the free trade agreement."

In December last year, the presidents of the four founding Mercosur member countries—Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay—jointly announced with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen the conclusion of the Mercosur-EU Free Trade Agreement, bringing to an end over 20 years of negotiations. From the outset, France, considering the protection of its domestic agriculture and environment, has expressed its inability to accept the agreement text, demanding that Mercosur agricultural products exported to the EU meet the same environmental standards as EU products.

If the agreement is smoothly signed and implemented, it will create a free trade area covering over 700 million people, with most tariffs on trade in goods between the EU and Mercosur being eliminated. However, the agreement still requires the approval of at least 15 out of the EU's 27 member states.

According to media reports, EU member states such as Germany and Spain support the agreement, primarily aiming to open up the Mercosur market for industries like automobiles. Mercosur, on the other hand, seeks to expand its exports of agricultural products such as beef, corn, and soybeans to Europe.