The European Parliament’s agriculture committee adopted two opinions during the evening of Monday 2 October, giving the green light to the opening of the trade talks proposed by the European Commission with Australia and New Zealand. The committee voted by 31 to 12, with 2 abstentions and 35 to 7, with 3 abstentions, respectively, to approve the opening of the talks but laid down the condition that sensitive agricultural products had to be maintained.
The committee says that trade agreements with Australia and New Zealand could benefit all parties so long as they fully comply with Europe’s high social, production, environmental, food safety and animal welfare standards, protected vulnerable EU agricultural sectors and safeguarded a sufficiently long list of European food products which enjoy geographical indication protection.
It warns, however, that care must be shown as each of these two countries has a relatively small market for EU exports but highly competitive, export-oriented agricultural sectors. Opening the market in certain sensitive products, such as dairy products, beef, mutton and veal, could harm EU producers, it says.
Caution. Rapporteur on the opinion on Australia Eric Andrieu (S&D, France) said that “the European Commission must stop using agriculture as a trade-off to increase access for our industrial products to third country markets”. In similar vein, James Nicholson (ECR, UK), rapporteur on the opinion on New Zealand, said that the agreement must ensure that European agricultures sensitive products, in particular in sectors such as dairy products and sheep and goat meat, must be protected.
The agriculture committee’s opinion will be submitted to the international trade committee, the lead committee on this matter, which will put the draft legislative resolution to the vote on 12 October.