A controversial trade deal between the EU and South America's Mercosur bloc is back in the spotlight with rekindled optimism that the two sides could conclude an agreement before the year is over. The blockbuster trade pact between the 27-country European Union and Mercosur countries -- Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay -- has been 25 years in the making and would create the world's biggest free trade zone. The contours of a deal were agreed in 2019 but some EU states blocked its ratification over environmental concerns.
Key opponent France is still trying to stop it in its tracks -- with angry farmers planning protests from Wednesday in Paris and Brussels against an accord they fear will flood the bloc with cheaper agricultural goods. But officials point to a real push inside the European Commission, in charge of EU trade policy, to get a Mercosur deal over the line despite French opposition. The agreement's biggest European supporters, including Spain and Germany, believe it can be struck before year end, and South American officials were also optimistic.
"I see that both blocs are very interested in completing the remaining parts of the agreement," said Argentina's international economic relations secretary, Marcelo Cima. "I understand that there is still some work to do to be able to finish, but there is a very good atmosphere," Cima told AFP. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez pointed last month to two key meetings as a chance to move things forward: the G20 summ.