Not to TLC UE-Mercosur: The time has come to definitively and absolutely abandon the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and the Mercosur countries, which has nothing ‘salvageable’ about it. Because although an agreement has not been reached, apparently the negotiations continue and what they should do is stop completely, for the good of the Europeans and also the South Americans involved.
Thousands of farmers have been protesting across Europe in recent days in virtually all major European cities, to denounce the unfair competition caused by the implementation of certain Free Trade Agreements such as the TLC UE-Mercosurwhich protesters say means poor working conditions and low income.
Friends of the Earth Europe, the Eurogroup for Animals and the European Trade Justice Coalition (ETJC) share the frustration of European farmers at having to compete with imported products, which are exempt from complying with environmental, labor and safety standards. animal welfare of the EU.
While President Macron, who reportedly asked the European Commission to stop the negotiations of the TLC UE-Mercosurmet with Ursula von der Leyen at a summit of European Union leaders, the groups in disagreement reinforce the call to end the EU-Mercosur agreement and stop others of the same type that are under study.
Position of NGOs and Declarations against the EU-Mercosur FTA
Leah Sullivan, Coordinator, ETJC explained that: ‘the climate crisisand the inequalities of all kinds that Europe faces cannot be resolved with trade agreements that are even more obsolete and unfair and that, furthermore, as in the case of the TLC UE-Mercosur They are negotiated behind closed doors. We need a radical shift in trade policy and put the planet and people at the center. The only reasonable call is for more countries to join France in demanding a complete end to this disastrous agreement.’
Environmental, animal welfare and trade justice NGOs also denounce current populist discourses, which seek to blame green, sustainable and progressive legislation for farmers’ unrest.
Farmers need fair and stable prices for more environmentally friendly food production environment and animal welfare. To successfully transition towards sustainable food systems and achieve food sovereignty, the EU must uphold the agricultural objectives of the European Green Deal and reform its Common Agricultural Policy.
Julie Zalcman, trade campaigner, Friends of the Earth Europe, commented: ‘There are thousands of farmers protesting in Europe against unfair free trade agreements like the TLC UE-Mercosur. This is a fight supported by environmentalists and a large part of civil society. So how can the Commission continue to put the economic interests of corporate giants before our common well-being? The negotiations of the EU-Mercosur agreement, which is as toxic as it is obsolete, must stop now and forever.’
If implemented, the TLC UE-Mercosur It will create greater unfair competition between European and South American farmers, it will reinforce the intensification of monocultures, intensive livestock farming and extractive models in South America. And it will fuel deforestation, pesticide use and human rights violations. These issues are inherent in the agreement and cannot be resolved with a non-enforceable joint instrument, as proposed by the EU Commission.
Stephanie Ghislain, Director of Political Affairs at the Eurogroup for Animals adds that: ‘Even with the proposed joint instrument, the agreement would continue to increase the risks of animal cruelty, deforestation and human rights abuse due to EU demand for commodities such as soya, beef and poultry.’