Protests against the EU-Mercosur deal
The ratification process for the EU-Mercosur trade agreement has triggered protests by citizens and farmers' associations, as well as in the European Parliament, where 145 MEPs had planned to challenge the deal in court until this was blocked on procedural grounds. The Parliament is due to vote on the agreement in December. Commentators see criticism of the deal as justified to a certain degree.
The wrong way to assert itself
The EU is shortsightedly sacrificing its values, criticises Antoine Oger, director of the think tank Institute for European Environmental Policy, in Le Monde:
“Together with the current dismantling of environmental standards, which allegedly hinder the competitiveness of European companies, the EU-Mercosur agreement highlights Europe's desire to assert its place among the world's major powers – even at the cost of pushing the fight against climate change and biodiversity loss into the background. But this short-sightedness is leading us in the wrong direction. Europe's future prosperity lies in a society that is resilient to climate change, capable of moderate consumption and connected to the rest of the world through trade agreements that respect the limits of our planet.”
Agricultural states under pressure from all sides
News website wPolityce.pl voices concern for Europe's agriculture:
“The countries that have the most to lose from the agreement with Mercosur are those in which agriculture plays a key role, such as Poland, France and Ireland. The situation is doubly difficult for Polish farmers, as they find themselves in a kind of catch-22 situation: on the one hand, more and more food and grain is already coming in from Ukraine; on the other a flood of products from South America is to be expected.”
A cynical deal
Trud warns:
“Behind the façade of strategic necessity lies a deeply cynical deal that undermines the foundations of the EU, the quality of our food production and the strict safety standards that have been built up over decades. ... What's more it destroys the livelihoods of EU farmers and poses an unacceptable risk to Europe's food producers. The true nature of this agreement is not partnership but political opportunism. It turns Europe's agriculture into a mere bargaining chip for gaining better access for industrial goods such as cars, chemicals and machinery to the huge South American market. Such cynical bartering ignores the strategic importance of food sovereignty – and consumer confidence.”