On Tuesday 26 November, the Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, officially joined the camp of those opposed to the EU/Mercosur trade agreement. “Poland will not accept the free trade agreement with the countries of South America, i.e. the Mercosur bloc, in this form”, he told the press. On the same day, his government adopted a resolution opposing the current version of the agreement. Polish farmers are particularly concerned.
For their part, the members of the French National Assembly were united in their opposition to the signing of the agreement, during a debate on the same issue on the same day. Following their discussion, they adopted a resolution to this effect by a large majority.
The text asks the government, firstly, to notify the European Commission of its opposition to the agreement and, secondly, to ask for the Treaty to be ratified in its mixed form, i.e. by unanimity of the Member States and national parliaments.
The National Assembly’s aim is to prevent the trade part of the agreement from being separated from the rest, so that it can be ratified by a qualified majority of the EU27 and without the approval of national parliaments.
The French government has sought to reassure elected representatives that it will “fully and resolutely” oppose the agreement with Mercosur “as envisaged by the (European) Commission”, reaffirmed the French Minister for Agriculture, Annie Genevard.
Eight organisations are calling for reciprocity of standards in the agreement. In addition, in a press release issued on Tuesday 26 November, eight associations called for the reciprocity of standards to be included in the EU/Mercosur agreement, which they believe should be a cornerstone of any agreement. Without this, the viability of European agricultural production is at risk, according to the organisations, which include Copa-Cogeca and representatives from the chicken, sugar, maize and beet sectors. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)