As part of the process of adopting the safeguard clause attached to the trade agreement between the EU and the Mercosur countries, Latvia and Hungary have expressed a number of reservations, in statements compiled by the Council of the European Union on Wednesday 25 February.
While Latvia supports this safeguard clause, as well as the possible provisional application of the free trade agreement, in this document it expresses its concerns about the fate of European farmers, who could face difficulties as a result of possible “loss of market share or reductions in income or prices”.
The Latvian authorities therefore believe that the safeguard measures, negotiated with the European Parliament (see EUROPE 13805/7), must be “applied effectively and without delay” and that appropriate instruments must be put in place “to provide immediate support to farmers coping with disturbances in agricultural markets”.
Hungary, for its part, considers that additional guarantees are needed, arguing that the agreement and its safeguard clause “does not in itself provide adequate protection against cheaper imports from Mercosur countries”.
It is also critical of the lack of protection for smaller Member States, and the impossibility of dealing with market disturbances at regional level, “as the Commission will examine the existence of serious injury [...] at EU level”. Budapest will therefore vote against the negotiated measures.
The final vote by the EU27 on the safeguard clause is due to take place at the Justice and Home Affairs Council on 5 and 6 March.
To see the document: https://aeur.eu/f/kxf (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)