The Austrian Parliament approved on Wednesday (18.09.2019) a motion that forces the Government to veto before the European Council the approval of the trade agreement between the European Union (EU) and Mercosur (comprising Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay).
The proposal was supported by almost all parliamentary parties (social democrats, Christian democrats, ultra-nationalists and pro-communists), with the exception of the liberal NEOS, which supports the agreement, although it calls for some modifications.
The social-democratic SPÖ group, one of the proponents of the motion, described the approval of the measure as “a great victory for consumers, the environment, animal protection and human rights.”
The conservative ÖVP party, currently the largest in parliament, unexpectedly backed the proposal, while the ultra-nationalist FPÖ said the deal was “history” and argued that Austria could not bow to the interests of industry.
The Greens, who are not in parliament, also positioned themselves in favour of stopping what they described as a “harmful agreement”.
Austria will hold early general elections on the 29th, which will result in a new Parliament and a new Executive, which will replace the current cabinet of experts, in power since last June after a political crisis that ended the coalition between conservatives and nationalists.
The new government will be obliged to apply this veto in the European Council, where all EU countries are represented, and which must ratify the agreement, together with the European Parliament and the Member States.
On 28 June, after 20 years of negotiations, the EU and Mercosur finalised the trade agreement, which still needs to be ratified to enter into force.
The main objections of certain European countries are based on the protectionism of certain sectors of their economy, which, if the treaty is applied, will have to compete with the powerful South American production.
Source: Reuters
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