France won’t sign EU-Mercosur deal ‘under current conditions’ – minister

Paris will not sign the EU-Mercosur farming deal struck between the EU and the Mercosur countries of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay under current conditions, France’s environment minister said on Tuesday.

“We can’t sign a trade treaty with a country that doesn’t respect the Amazon forest, that doesn’t respect the Paris (climate) treaty,” Elisabeth Borne told BFM TV.

French President Emmanuel Macron said late August he had decided to block the EU-Mercosur deal, accusing Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro of lying in playing down concerns about climate change, drawing criticism from Germany and Britain, Reuters said.