Joachim Rukwied, President of the Committee of Professional Agricultural Organisations of the EU (COPA), told the press on Thursday 12 September in Brussels that the trade agreement between the EU and the Mercosur countries involves many risks, including the risk of importing different production standards.
Joachim Rukwied is not opposed to bilateral agreements aimed at liberalising trade, quite the contrary. “We do not reject the EU/Mercosur agreement, but we cannot support this type of trade agreement”. According to him, the arrangements concluded could create damage in some European markets, in particular beef or sugar for the production of ethanol.
On ‘double standards’, the COPA president recalled that Brazil had different tools than those used by European farmers, including “150 pesticides” which are banned at EU level, “not to mention social standards in South America”, which are very different. He would like to discuss this trade agreement with the next Trade Commissioner, normally Phil Hogan.
COPA-COGECA has already protested against the “major concessions” granted in the agricultural chapter, in particular for some of the EU's most sensitive sectors such as beef, poultry, sugar, ethanol, rice and orange juice, for which historically high tariff quotas have been proposed.
Recently, France and Ireland have threatened to oppose the EU/Mercosur agreement (see EUROPE 12312/1).
No to the capping of subsidies. In addition, with regard to the negotiations on the post-2020 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the President of COPA clearly stated that he was against capping aid to large companies. COPA-COGECA Secretary General Pekka Pesonen qualified his remarks by stressing that EU agricultural organisations and cooperatives accepted an optional cap on aid for Member States wishing to set up this mechanism.
Finally, on the budget debate, Joachim Rukwied once again opposed the Commission's proposed cuts in agricultural appropriations in the EU's multiannual financial framework (MFF) for 2021-2027. “We want an ambitious budget for the CAP, around 1.2-1.25% of the EU's gross national income”, he asserted. The Commission has proposed a total of 1.14% of GNI, compared to 1.3% for the European Parliament. But Member States generally support a budget close to 1% of GNI. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)