Brussels (ANSA) – A mobilization of farmers and agricultural unions is underway in the European quarter of Brussels against the trade agreement between the EU and the Mercosur countries (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay). Led by the Belgian Federation of Breeders and Growers Groups (Fugea), with the cries of ‘Stop the Mercosur agreement’ and ‘immediately fair prices,’ the protest has gathered around a hundred farmers to ask the European Commission not to ratify the deal with the South American trade bloc.
European farmers are concerned about the arrival on the EU market of low-cost products that do not meet the same environmental and social protection standards as the EU. Some representatives of political groups in the European Parliament, The Left, and the liberals of Renew Europe are also taking part in the demonstration. “I am here to support the farmers in their battle against the deal,” explains Manon Aubry, leader of The Left, calling it “the worst trade deal signed” by Brussels, which “will have dramatic consequences on health and climate.”
Aubry, as vice-president of the European Parliament’s international trade committee, also accused the EU Executive of wanting to finalize the agreement secretly, “behind sealed doors.” “We have not had access to the negotiation documents” underway with the trade bloc, she accused. According to reports, the Commission intends to finalize the EU-Mercosur deal at the G20 summit to be held in Brasilia next week, on November 18 and 19.
“In the ongoing negotiations with the four Mercosur countries, an absolute priority for the European Union is to ensure that the sensitivities of our agricultural sector are fully respected and fully integrated into the agreement, as in the case of all our trade negotiations,” commented a European Commission spokesman asked about the farmers’ protests (November 13).
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