Piñera sees EU-Chile agreement within reach after meeting with Macron

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The president of Chile, Sebastián Piñera, assured Monday (7) that the modernization of the trade agreement with the European Union (EU) is “on the verge” of being concluded, after a meeting with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, as part of a European tour.

“We talked about how to accelerate the new collaboration agreement between France, the EU, and Chile and which is on the verge of being reached,” Piñera said in a statement to the press, without questions, after having lunch with Macron at the Elysée Palace.

The European bloc and the South American country began negotiating in November 2017 the modernization of the diplomatic framework between the two since 2003, which incorporates a commercial section to include aspects such as investments or intellectual property.

The president of France, who will assume the pro tempore presidency of the EU in January, expressed his support for a “successful conclusion” of the negotiations. However, he recalled his red lines: protection of investments and effective compliance with the Paris Agreement.

Macron’s support is not trivial, especially since he already reiterated on Friday his opposition, due to climate and biodiversity protection issues, to the trade agreement between the 27 European countries and the Mercosur nations concluded in 2019.

The EU is Chile’s third-largest trading partner, after China and the United States, and imported goods in 2020, especially agricultural and mining products, accounted for 5.886 billion Euros, according to data from the European Commission.

According to the same source, Chile, the EU’s 39th largest trading partner, meanwhile imported European goods for just over 7.534 billion Euros, especially machinery, transport equipment, and chemicals.

HISTORIC MOMENT

Piñera’s visit, as part of a European tour of France, Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the Vatican, comes in the midst of the work of the Chilean Constituent Convention to replace the current Constitution, inherited from the era of dictator Augusto Pinochet.

The Elysée had announced that this issue would be on the menu of the lunch of both leaders, and Macron highlighted, during the final joint statement, the “historic moment” that Chile was living and expressed “all the support of France”.

On the political crises in Venezuela and Nicaragua, both leaders evoked “the need for democratic, peaceful and negotiated solutions”, indicated the French president, who, together with his wife, Brigitte Macron, received Piñera.

In addition to the modernization of the Association Agreement between Chile and the EU, the Chilean head of state, who will leave office in March 2022, also seeks to boost the fight against future pandemics and climate change, according to his office.

Covid-19 “has meant a great triumph for science, which was able to discover vaccines in months (…), but a great defeat for politics, which has not known how to collaborate sufficiently to prevent greater damage,” assured Piñera.

The day before, the Chilean president had already analyzed with the Spanish authorities the progress made against the pandemic. On Tuesday, he will return to Madrid to meet with King Felipe VI and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.

As of September 2, 86.01% of the population in Chile, some 13 million people, had completed their vaccination schedule, which immunizes with Coronavac, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and CanSino vaccines, according to figures from the authorities.

Source: afp