Breaking: Addendum to EU-Mercosur agreement leaked – civil society criticises document as greenwashing
Berlin, 22.03.2023 Leaked documents show from a confidential source that the proposed annex to the EU-Mercosur agreement, which aims to protect the environment, climate and human rights, does not exactly contribute to this. The addendum reveals that there is a strong discrepancy between the European Union's climate objectives and human rights commitments and what it actually supports behind closed doors.
"Instead of real change, as announced by the EU Commission, the EU proposal of the Joint Addendum offers above all lip service that is not effective in combating deforestation, climate change or human rights violations. Instead, the EU-Mercosur agreement will promote trade based on the exploitation of natural resources, deepening economic and social inequalities and destroying our livelihoods", says Bettina Müller from the environmental organisation PowerShift.
Failure to meet climate targets
The climate protection measures in the addendum are neither realistic nor sufficient. On the issue of emission reductions, it is stipulated that countries should adhere to their national contributions set in 2019. In doing so, the agreement reinforces precisely the activities that drive up greenhouse gas emissions: In Brazil, for example, agriculture is one of the main causes of deforestation and associated greenhouse gas emissions. The extension of industrial agriculture through the EU-Mercosur Agreement would push it even higher.
Additional Protocol without transparency and democratic participation
Civil society has so far been excluded from the negotiations on the agreement, both in the EU and in Mercosur. The supplementary agreement was negotiated in secret and only made available to the public through a leak. Meanwhile, corporate lobbyists from the climate-damaging automotive and agricultural industries were given a seat at the table. (1)
“The additional agreement just leaked shows that the EU-Mercosur agreement is primarily intended to serve the interests of corporations. It is high time to set the course for a social-ecological transformation. The EU-Mercosur agreement prevents the urgently needed mobility, agricultural and energy transition in Europe and the Mercosur countries. We as a civil society are calling for an immediate stop to this agreement”, says Theresa Kofler from the Anders Handel platform.
More than 450 European and South American civil society organisations (2) have already declared their opposition to the EU-Mercosur agreement two years ago. The addendum does not change that either. This is nothing more than an attempt at greenwashing. We call on the government to finally end negotiations on the EU-Mercosur trade agreement.
Press contacts:
Bettina Müller
Trade and Investment Policy Officer at PowerShift e.V.
bettina.mueller@power-shift.de
Theresa Kofler
Coordinator Platform Anders Handel
theresa.kofler@anders-handeln.at
