Brussels, 09/03/2011 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission should avoid making concessions that could have a negative impact on European agriculture when it negotiates international trade agreements, the European Parliament (EP) says. With their adoption of the report by Georgios Papastamkos (EPP, Greece) on trade and agriculture, MEPs also send out a warning over the consequences of the trade negotiations with Mercosur and criticise the recent agreement with Morocco.
The EP did not mince its words. It condemns the Commission's approach, which “far too often makes concessions on agriculture in order to obtain enhanced market access in third countries for industrial products and services”. And it calls on the Commission to “stop putting agricultural interests behind the interests of the industrial and services sector”. In addition, MEPs take the view that decisions to further open up the EU market to imports of agricultural goods “should not be taken without ensuring that EU farmers can be compensated for their losses”.
Imports. The EP calls for agricultural imports into the EU to provide European consumers “with the same guarantees in terms of consumer protection, animal welfare, environmental protection and minimum social standards as those provided by European production methods”. It calls on the Commission to include clauses in bilateral trade agreements that require third countries to comply with the same sanitary and phytosanitary conditions that are imposed on European producers. It insists on the need for tighter import controls at borders and for checks on production and marketing conditions carried out by the Food and Veterinary Office in countries exporting to the EU to be stepped up. MEPs also underline the need to step up programmes to promote European agricultural products, including through “an increase in the percentage of EU co-financing”.
Doha Development Agenda (DDA). The EP takes the view that, in a bid to secure a successful outcome to the DDA, the EU made an “extremely generous” offer on agriculture, which cannot be increased, but this has not, to date, been reciprocated by an equivalent level of ambition from other developed and advanced developing countries. The EP asks it to refrain from making any proposals that would “predetermine the decisions to be made on the future of the CAP post-2013”. It considers that the general reduction in customs tariffs should be assessed in the light of the EU offer on the domestic support and export competition pillars, and should depend on the possibility of keeping the Special Safeguard clause. It is of the opinion that the proposed mechanism for designating sensitive products is “fatally undermined” by the obligation to achieve significant tariff quota expansion.
WTO dispute settlement. Parliament asks the Commission vigorously to defend the EU regime for authorising and marketing GMOs against challenges in the WTO.
Morocco. The EP expresses its grave concern about the EU-Morocco agreement. It points out that, while European markets have opened up almost completely to imports from Morocco, “some agricultural products are still subject to quotas on exports from the EU, including important products such as pomaceous fruits”. It stresses, in particular, that the complex system of entry prices that applies to tomato imports from Morocco is causing problems and calls, therefore, on the Commission to make the relevant changes without delay.
Mercosur. Parliament considers it unacceptable that the Commission resumed negotiations with Mercosur without making a detailed impact assessment publicly available and without engaging in a proper political debate with the Council and Parliament. It calls for a study into the impact of these negotiations on European agricultural sectors and regions to be produced and discussed before any tariff proposals are exchanged between the EU and Mercosur. It calls on the Commission not to conclude the negotiations with Mercosur until the WTO round has been brought to a close. It feels that the position of the newer member states has not been taken into account in the negotiations between the EU and Mercosur. It removed the paragraph in the initial report which called on the Commission to “suspend the negotiations” with Mercosur until a new mandate taking into account the position of the new member states had been adopted.
Bananas. The EP regrets the tariff concessions recently granted by the Commission to the countries that export bananas to the EU. It calls for a “review of the aid” received by European producers under aid programmes for the outermost regions (POSEI) in order to “compensate these producers for the effects that this cut in tariffs will have on prices in the EU market”.
Brazilian meat. The EP underlines that a series of reports from the Food and Veterinary Office highlights the ongoing failure of Brazilian beef to meet EU producer and consumer standards on food safety, animal identification and traceability, animal health and disease controls. MEPs also express their concern at the prospect of concessions on cereals in the negotiations with Ukraine. (L.C./transl.rt)