Prior to the granting of mandates and guidelines by the Council of the EU to the Commission to negotiate free-trade agreements with Australia and New Zealand, the European Parliament agriculture committee’s rapporteurs for opinion have, in opinions to be put to the vote in committee at the start of October, called for sensitive agricultural products to be properly protected.
Éric Andrieu (S&D, France) points out that Australia “has a very competitive, export-focused agricultural sector” and that the Australian market offers European exporters of agricultural products relatively few outlets”. He “warns, therefore, against the danger of a serious imbalance in the agricultural provisions of the agreement, to the detriment of the EU, and against the temptation once again to use agriculture as a bargaining chip to secure increased access to the Australian market for industrial and products and services”. He says that “the EU must refrain from making any sort of commitment” in sectors such as beef and veal and sheep meat and special sugars. He points out that “following Brexit, all tariff quotas which might be granted to Australia will apply to a smaller EU market” and that “from now on the EU will have to take careful account of Brexit when deciding what concessions it can offer”.
British MEP James Nicholson (ECR), in turn, calls on the Commission to ensure fair competition conditions in talks with New Zealand which has “a very competitive and strongly export-orientated agricultural sector”, “for instance by introducing transitional periods or appropriate quotas, or by not making any commitments in the most sensitive sectors”. Nicholson suggests dairy and sheep and goats sectors as the EU’s vulnerable products.
Once passed by the agriculture committee, these draft opinions will be submitted to the international trade committee, whose rapporteur on the mandates for negotiations with Australia and New Zealand, Daniel Caspary (EPP, Germany) has called, in his draft recommendation, for balanced results in the agricultural sector which take due account of the interests of all European producers and consumers, for instance, by putting in place quotas in the most sensitive sectors.
In his response, published on 7 August, to a written question from Emmanuel Maurel (S&D, France) on the agricultural concessions in the future agreement with Australia and New Zealand, which asked if the Commission would, in these draft negotiating guidelines, propose further opening of the European beef, milk and sugar markets to Australian and New Zealand exports, Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan gave an assurance that the negotiating guidelines that are being finalised would reflect these sensitive agricultural issues.
“Australia and New Zealand have very different trade cultures to ours, notably in agricultural trade. In these two countries, which do not recognise the principles of geographical indications, agriculture is carried out on an extensive scale. For that reason, the EU agricultural sector needs to be accorded special attention”, Maurel stated in a written question sent on 21 June. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)