Agricultural Organizations Call EU’s Mercosur Deal a “Serious Offense”

The European Commission has once again betrayed farmers, and the provisional application of the Mercosur agreement is unacceptable, the Hungarian Chamber of Agriculture (NAK) and the National Association of Hungarian Farmers’ Circles and Farmers’ Cooperatives (MAGOSZ) stated in a joint statement on Friday.

The two organizations emphasized that even the proceedings initiated before the European Court of Justice did not deter the European Commission, led by Ursula von der Leyen, from provisionally applying the Mercosur agreement. The NAK and MAGOSZ agree with the position of the European Farmers’ Union that this procedure should be rejected because it further undermines trust between European institutions and rural communities, makes life impossible for producers, and exposes consumers to food safety risks.

“For years, European agriculture and food industry players have been stressing that the trade agreement with South American countries could seriously damage the sector and threaten food security. Producers have voiced their concerns on several occasions, taking to the streets in Brussels at the end of last year and in Strasbourg at the beginning of this year,” the organizations explained.

Producers’ concerns are not only related to the significant influx of imports, which in certain sensitive sectors such as beef, poultry and sugar, but also to persistent threats in the areas of production standards, environmental requirements, animal welfare rules, the use of pesticides and labor standards.

The European Union has not yet received any guarantees that would truly reassure producers and consumers.

Even more worrying is that the latest inspection by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE) revealed serious shortcomings concerning Brazilian beef. While the use of growth-promoting hormones in animal husbandry is prohibited in the EU, the report concluded that Brazil’s current control and monitoring system does not provide full assurance that these requirements are being met.

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There is therefore a significant risk that hormone-treated Brazilian beef could flood Europe under the Mercosur agreement,”

the statement said.

According to NAK and MAGOSZ, it is a serious offense that the Commission, led by Ursula von der Leyen, is pushing for the provisional application of the agreement, ignoring the concerns of the agricultural sectors and the investigation by the European Court of Justice.

This contradicts the European Commission’s previous promise not to implement any agreement that does not have the comprehensive approval of the European Parliament.

The two organizations emphasized that the agricultural sector is already under significant economic pressure due to rising input costs, climate challenges, and turbulent market conditions. Such actions leave a lasting political mark and further undermine trust between European institutions and rural communities, they said in a statement.

Commission Forces Through Mercosur Deal without European Parliament Approval