So once again we learn just how committed the EU is to free trade. A trade deal with the South American bloc Mercosur – comprising Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay – has been under negotiation for 20 years. The icing appeared to be on the cake, the ribbon about to be cut – but at the end of last week it was skewered by Austria’s Parliament voting against it.
Without the agreement of all 28 EU member states the deal cannot go ahead. It is reminiscent of what happened to Ceta, the EU’s trade deal with Canada which was about to clear its last hurdle when, in 2016, the regional parliament of Walloonia in Belgium threw a spanner in the works. Ceta did eventually go through after Walloonia withdrew its objections, but the same cannot be guaranteed with Austria’s objection to the Mercosur agreement.
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