Joint statement: Enough smoke and mirrors! EU-Mercosur Agreement remains unacceptable

ePURE is among the signatories of the following joint statement on the EU-Mercosur Agreement:

Two days before the large-scale farmers protest on the streets of Brussels, Copa-Cogeca, supported by the undesigning agri-food organisations, urge EU lawmakers to reject the Mercosur Agreement.

Following today’s vote in the European Parliament on the proposed Safeguard Regulation, and while acknowledging the efforts made by Members of the European Parliament to improve this implementing legislation and to uphold democratic scrutiny by listening to the concerns of farmers and agri-food operators across the Union, it must be stressed that this Regulation cannot correct the deep structural imbalances embedded in the agreement, nor can it provide genuinely effective protection for sensitive agricultural sectors.

The safeguards proposed remain insufficient to prevent market disruption, fail to ensure a genuine level playing field in light of divergent production standards, and do not offer credible guarantees to EU farmers and manufacturers already operating under much stricter regulatory and economic constraints.

On Thursday, 10.000 farmers from more than 40 national organizations from 27 Member States will march to highlight the depth of the crisis confronting the sector, with key requests addressed to the EU Institutions, among which a fair and transparent trade.

The signature and ratification of the EU–Mercosur Agreement would send an unequivocally wrong political signal.

It would risk further destabilising an already fragile agricultural sector and erode trust in European policymaking.

We therefore call on Member States to take responsibility in the upcoming Council discussions and reject the EU-Mercosur Agreement in its current form.

Supporting Europe’s agriculture means ensuring fairness, competitiveness and long-term sustainability. Those that feed Europe must not be asked to bear the cost of an unbalanced trade agreement.

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AVEC - The voice of Europe’s poultry meat sector

CEFS - European Association of Sugar Manufacturers

CEPM - European Confederation of Maize Production

CIBE - International Confederation of European Beet Growers

Copa Cogeca - The United Voice of Farmers and their Cooperatives in the European Union European Flour Millers

ePURE - European Renewable Ethanol

EUWEP - European Union of Wholesale in Eggs, Egg-Products, Poultry and Game

iEthanol - European Industrial & Beverage Ethanol Association

SELMA - The Sustainable European Livestock & Meat Association