On Wednesday 11 February, the EU’s agricultural organisations and cooperatives (Copa-Cogeca) expressed their deep concern at the relaunch of negotiations for a free trade agreement between the European Union and Australia, believing that the agreement could have a disproportionate impact on European farmers and cooperatives.
“Key agricultural sectors, such as beef, sheep meat, sugar and rice, are already under extreme pressure,” stressed Massimiliano Giansanti, President of Copa. He also mentioned the cumulative impact of other trade agreements, in particular the one with the Mercosur countries. “Any further opening of the EU market, even in the form of tariff rate quotas, would only add fuel to the fire,” he added.
Copa-Cogeca calls on the European Commission to take full account of the sensitivity of these sectors and to ensure that any EU/Australia agreement is genuinely balanced. “Without a clear acknowledgement of the cumulative pressures facing EU farmers and strict restraint on market opening for sensitive products, the agreement risks undermining production, investment and the future of farming in Europe,” warns the organisation. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)