The European Milk Board (EMB) has expressed “strong reservations” about the free trade agreement signed by the European Union and Mercosur countries.
Last Friday (December 6), the EU reached political agreement with four Mercosur countries – Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay – on the controversial deal.
According to the European Commission the agreement “represents a win-win for both the EU and Mercosur” by creating opportunities for growth, jobs and sustainable development on both sides.
However, farming organisations, particularly in Ireland and France, have voiced major opposition to the deal citing an increased influx of beef from the South American countries at reduced tariffs.
Mercosur
The European Milk Board (EMB), an umbrella organisation that represents numerous dairy-farmer organisations across Europe, said that the Mercosur agreement is a real threat to agriculture and citizens around the globe.
“This deal clearly favours industry, to the detriment of farmers and consumers,” Kjartan Poulsen, EMB president and dairy farmer from Denmark, said.
“The agreement promotes neither social nor environmental sustainability and will only exacerbate the already difficult reality of European farmers. Jobs, income and the basic livelihood of many farmers hangs in the balance,” he added.
The EMB said that a central issue with the agreement is the danger of local agricultural production being priced out by cheap imports from South America.
The organisation also believes that the agreement is incompatible with the EU’s sustainability goals.
It is clear that this agreement stands in clear contradiction of the EU’s goals regarding the reduction of harmful emissions and general environmental protection, it added.
The EMB president also claimed that the Mercosur deal will also influence security policy.
“Food production is a cornerstone of national security. As the agreement weakens the position of European agriculture and increases the dependence on global markets, it is safe to say that security of supply for citizens and thus national security is called into question,” Poulsen said.
The EMB is now calling for a trade policy that “protects the interests of European farmers and consumers, upholds the principles of environmental and social sustainability, and embodies democratic values instead of ignoring them”.