Once the European elections concluded, Copa-Cogeca has noted that there is renewed optimism about putting the agreement with Mercosur back in the spotlight. “We have discussed this agreement many times, but with the next round of negotiations just days away, our sectors once again feel the pressure to express their firm opposition to this agreement,” they state.
Since the EU and Mercosur member states reached a political agreement in 2019 on a comprehensive trade deal, “our organisations have firmly opposed it due to the adverse effects it would have on our producers, but also on the environment. This agreement, in principle, does not take into account the changes and initiatives that have stemmed from the EU Green Deal, nor the changing landscape in which agriculture operates today, following the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of the war in Ukraine”.
According to Copa-Cogeca, it appears that, for geopolitical reasons and in the interest of certain industries, the Commission is willing to turn a blind eye to the impact it would have on some of the most sensitive sectors of EU agriculture, especially when, following major concerns and protests from our farmers, it is debating the future of our sector, considered strategic.
Despite certain access having been granted to EU products, such as wine, dairy products, olive oil, some fruits, vegetables and geographical indications, “the Mercosur agreement remains unbalanced in its agricultural chapter, particularly affecting already fragile agricultural sectors such as beef, poultry, rice, sugar and ethanol.”
Even with an additional instrument on sustainability, whose scope remains unclear, it is evident that “Mercosur countries are not in a position to adopt the same on-farm production standards that the EU intends and imposes on its own farmers. Our organisations cannot accept, under any circumstances, that European standards be weakened or that any European producer be penalised in the market for complying with those standards. We therefore cannot cease to reiterate our resounding NO to an agreement of this kind”.
This also adds to concerns about the cumulative and difficult-to-quantify impacts of all the agreements already signed by the EU, and even more so when those currently in the pipeline are considered, including the possible eastward enlargement of the EU.