The approval of the EU – Mercosur trade agreement is causing tremors in the European and by extension the Greek agricultural sector, with agricultural organizations, Members of the European Parliament, and experts speaking of a disastrous development that threatens incomes, jobs, food security, and the very foundations of European agriculture.
The agreement, which was approved by the representatives of the EU member states in a critical vote on Friday 9 January, concerns the abolition of tariffs on 91% of the products traded between the EU and the Mercosur countries (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay), creating a single market of 780 million consumers.
However, beyond the theory of numbers, if we want to look the truth in the eye, what is coming is nightmarish.
“Betrayal of European agriculture”
According to the European Milk Board (EMB), the approval of the agreement is a “betrayal of EU agriculture” and a “frontal attack” on the primary sector.
As it emphasizes, the agreement destroys agricultural incomes, violently pressures producer prices, and forces European farmers, and therefore Greek farmers as well, into a destructive competition with imported products produced under much lower social, environmental, and health standards.
The EMB warns that the situation is already critical, with a collapse of prices in the milk market, while calling for the immediate activation of production limiting mechanisms.
“Anything else is politically irresponsible and sends a lethal message to the agricultural world of Europe,” it notes.
The agreement provides for upper limits on imports with reduced tariffs, which however, according to critics, are sufficient to blow sensitive sectors apart (99,000 tons of beef or 1,5% of EU production, 180,000 tons of poultry or 1,3%, and 25,000 tons of pork).
Already, one third of poultry imports into the EU come from Mercosur countries, while increased flows of beef, sugar, corn, honey, and ethanol are expected to follow.
European producers are being asked to compete with products produced using banned pesticides, lax controls, and low labor costs.
Indicative is the fact that more than 30 active substances used in sugarcane in Brazil have been banned in the EU, while 52% of the pesticides permitted for corn in Mercosur are not permitted in Europe.
Health and environmental risks
Concerns do not stop at the economy.
Reports by DG SANTE reveal serious deficiencies in Brazil in the surveillance of avian influenza, underreporting of cases, and the use of banned disinfection methods, such as chlorine in poultry.
At the same time, the lack of full traceability, especially in beef, creates fears that products linked to deforestation will flood the European market.
Tens of thousands of hectares risk being lost annually, while the environmental “clauses” of the agreement are described as unenforceable and without sanctions.
The agreement also raises serious labor rights issues.
Despite the formal ratification of international conventions, cases of child and forced labor are recorded in Mercosur countries.
According to the ITUC Global Rights Index, all countries, except Uruguay, systematically violate basic labor rights.
The result? Products produced through labor exploitation are imported into Europe, compressing wages, jobs, and conditions in the European agricultural and processing sector.
Farmers in the crosshairs
Although the Commission promotes benefits for Greece, more exports, lower tariffs, easier access to markets, the risks for Greek farmers are real and immediate.
Particular concern is caused by the status of Feta.
The agreement allows the use of the term “Feta” in Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay for up to seven years, undermining one of the most emblematic Greek products, even with mandatory indication of origin.
At the same time, products such as olive oil, meat, and agricultural derivatives risk being pressured by cheaper imports, while Greek producers are required to comply with strict rules that their competitors simply ignore.
At the very least, therefore, the agreement is “bad for farmers, the environment, and public health,” while reference was made to inadequate safeguards and political inertia by governments.
Although the agreement has not yet been completed, pending a vote in the European Parliament and a possible appeal to the European Court, the message to the agricultural world is clear: Mercosur threatens to turn into a gravestone for the sustainability of European and Greek agriculture.
And as agricultural organizations warn, if the agreement is implemented, the consequences will not be reversible.
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