A proposed “compensation fund” for EU farmers to offset negative impacts of the EU-Mercosur trade deal is causing more concern, a group of EU farm organisations has said.
The six organisations have issued a joint statement ahead of the G20 meeting in Brazil where they believe there is a possibility that concluding negotiations on the controversial trade agreement may take place.
Ahead of that meeting, international media reports have suggested that the European Commission is planning to put in place a compensation fund for impacted farmers in a bid to make the trade deal more palatable to member states opposed to it.
Mercosur
The EU farm organisations that have issued the joint statement, including Copa Cogeca – an umbrella group for national farm organisations and agricultural co-operatives – maintain the compensation proposal is “aimed at pacifying European farmers”.
“For our sectors, this appears more like a fake quick fix rather than a genuine solution. It fails to address key concerns, particularly regarding the impact on sensitive sectors and the lack of reciprocity in production standards under the current terms of the agreement.
“The prospect of an EU-Mercosur trade agreement is strongly opposed by our European agri-food sectors, which denounce it as outdated and incoherent.
“This agreement would facilitate the importation of agri-food products in the European market that are far from the standards imposed on European producers and manufacturers, resulting in an unfair and intolerable competition for our sectors.
“Even before the new Commission is confirmed, this would leave an indelible mark on the beginning of Ursula von der Leyen’s second term,” the statement said.
The organisations said that an EU Commission proposal for a “compensation fund” for EU farmers “could only be perceived as a provocation”.
“Instead of distracting the debate with such proposals, the commission should instead be seriously taking on board the conclusions on agri-food trade raised by the report on the Strategic Dialogue on the Future of EU Agriculture, that underlines the need for the commission to ‘undertake a comprehensive review of its negotiations strategies’ as well as the need for higher level of reciprocity.
“Any other approach would jeopardise our sectors, already weakened by a difficult climatic and economic context and would risk exacerbating the tensions expressed by the European agricultural sector at the start of 2024,” the farm organisations said.