As the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade (INTA) holds its public hearing today on the EU-Mercosur agreement, the absence of Europe’s most sensitive and vulnerable agricultural sectors will speak louder than many of the statements in the room.
While the hearing features voices from export-oriented agri-food sectors and some civil society actors, European farmers and producers in the sugar, beef, poultry, maize, egg, and ethanol sectors are once again missing from the conversation, despite being among the most directly and negatively impacted by the agreement.
This selective framing of the public hearing risks presenting a partial and misleading picture that ignores the real and pressing concerns of the EU’s farming and food-producing communities across Europe. This exclusion is not accidental. It reflects a broader worrying trend: a deliberate reluctance to confront the uncomfortable truths and realities of the EU-Mercosur deal’s consequences.
What you will not hear today is that:
- Under the current agreement terms, EU farmers and manufacturers are expected to compete under on an uneven playing field, facing imports produced under lower environmental, social, sanitary and food safety/standards than in the EU, with no guarantee of reciprocity.
- European consumers are being misled into believing that imported products meet the same high standards as EU food, when in reality this is far from being the case.
- Sustainability provisions in the current agreement remain vague, unenforceable, and that the Commission’s proposed “compensation fund” is no substitute for robust, legally binding safeguard mechanisms.
- Market access concessions in the current deal pose an existential threat to EU farmers and producers of sugar, beef, poultry or ethanol.
Supporters of this Agreement will likely argue that the current geopolitical climate and the threat of US tariffs make it essential. While today’s trade tensions are indeed concerning, they are evolving rapidly, and we must not lose sight of the fact that this Agreement represents a long-term commitment. In the current urgency to diversify and de-risk we must not forget agriculture’s strategic importance—especially in times of crisis.
Therefore, once again, we echo the longstanding and shared concerns voiced by our organisations for years: moving forward with this agreement in its current form would seriously undermine the EU’s own objectives and commitments on food security, sustainability, and fair competition.
If the European Parliament seeks a truly open, serious, and balanced debate, it must ensure that all voices, especially the most affected, are heard in the room.
Today’s hearing is a missed opportunity. But we urge MEPs to ask the tough questions and stand up for the principles of fair trade, reciprocity in standards, and the protection of Europe’s most sensitive agricultural sectors.
Fonte: Copa Cogeca
