Against the backdrop of a fragmenting trade order, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stressed at the World Economic Forum that Europe remains open to the world. But then, the European Parliament narrowly voted to request a legal opinion from the European Court of Justice on the EU-Mercosur agreement; a decision that could significantly delay its ratification.
The vote has triggered a heated debate about Europe’s trade policy, strategic direction, and the role the Greens play in this geopolitical context. We spoke to Sven Giegold, Member of the German Green Party’s federal executive board and responsible for European coordination.
1. The vote focused on a legal review, but politically it is a setback and potential delay for Mercosur. Is this the right signal in today’s geopolitical context?
The intensification of global trade without binding socio-ecological standards has accelerated the destruction of our natural resources in recent decades. Climate change and the overexploitation of biodiversity, such as the rainforest, are also consequences of the globalisation of an unsustainable consumption and production model. That is why many non-governmental organisations, trade unions and critical scientists in Latin America and Europe reject ever new free trade agreements that further entrench such a consumption and production model.
But this decision on Mercosur comes at a special moment. Especially in times of economic blackmail and geopolitical upheaval, we risk losing any chance of establishing common, binding international rules. That is why the remaining multilateralists must stand together – beyond the power politics of Trump, China and Russia. Europe must therefore jointly uphold the principle of rule-based action. That is why the vote in the European Parliament has sent out a fundamentally wrong signal.
2. Many observers were unsettled that the resolution succeeded with votes from the far right and far left, alongside a majority of Green MEPs. How do you reflect on this politically?
In the actual vote in the plenary session of the European Parliament, 43 conservatives, 34 social democrats and 24 liberals voted in favour of a legal review of the agreement, alongside the left, the right-wing conservatives and right-wing extremists, and the majority of the Greens. Due to the fragmented voting behaviour of conservatives, social democrats and liberals, it was impossible to predict which majorities would form in favour of the cross-party motion. Our offers to avoid this and find a viable solution among the pro-European parties were repeatedly rejected by EPP leader Manfred Weber (CSU).
The central political mistake was that the majority in favour of a legal review of the Mercosur agreement was only achieved with the votes of the far right. Since the last European elections, we Greens have strongly criticised the Christian Democrats dismantling the European Green Deal in several important votes in planned majorities with the Eurosceptic right-wing conservatives and right-wing extremists. The severity of our criticism has now, of course, left us politically exposed. It seems like a double standard: you criticise the majorities with the far right on the Green Deal, but here you are creating them yourself. This leads to two conclusions: even if accidental majorities in the European Parliament cannot be avoided, a majority with the far right must be avoided in important votes. Instead, we must return to negotiated compromises between all pro-Europeans, which once made the European Parliament strong.
3. At a time when Europe is under pressure to act more strategically on trade and geopolitics, what lessons should the Greens draw from this vote for future decisions in the European Parliament?
For Greens, economic globalisation is not an end in itself. The ecological consequences of economic globalisation do not disappear, even in times of new geo-economics. However, we cannot turn a blind eye to the new superpower ambitions of Russia, China and the United States. It is in Europe's interest to strengthen an alliance of states that strive for a rules-based international legal order. We Greens should continue to push for ecology, fair competition, human rights and the right of every trading partner to shape their respective markets according to democratic rules in new trade agreements. Even in these times, there can be no green blank cheque for new trade agreements. But priorities need to be re-evaluated.
The views and opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect those of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung European Union.
