Union leaders organize protests across the continent; at least 6 countries have already taken a stance against the pact
O of the negotiations for the agreement between the European Union and Mercosur this Friday (Dec 6, 2024) left European peasants dissatisfied. The FNSEA (National Federation of Agricultural Operators’ Unions), the largest farmers’ union in France, is organizing demonstrations across the country for Monday and Tuesday (9-10.dec) with the aim of pushing for a blockage of the agreement.
Protesters have already carried out spontaneous acts this Friday (Dec 6) against the free trade agreement. In Verdum, a small town in the Greater East region, around 150 farmers gathered in front of the local city hall.
Watch the protest (27sec):
🚜✊ There on the ground | : Mobilization of FNSEA members and those in front of the Verdun sub-prefecture.
👉 80 tractors and 150 farmers mobilized for, against,…— FNSEA (@FNSEA)
The group intends to pressure European Union bodies not to approve the pact. At least 6 countries are already against it. They were: France, Ireland, Italy, Holland, Austria and Poland.
The government of French President Emmanuel Macron (Renaissance, center) must work with other governments to create a coalition against the agreement, which continues for validation by the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament to be ratified and come into force.
In the Council of the European Union, at least 15 of the 27 member countries of the EU and representing 65% of the bloc’s population must approve. If countries with 35% of the continent’s population vote against, the agreement is blocked, even if they are in the minority.
The European Union 448 million inhabitants. France represents around 15%. Italy, 12.9%. Poland, 8.1%. Together, they make up 36% of the European bloc’s population.
This makes it difficult for the agreement to come into force, even if negotiations between the blocs have been finalized after 25 years.
However, European diplomats estimate that it will not be easy to form the blockade, although the lobby against the agreement is strong. French farmers lead opposition to the initiative and are putting pressure on the country’s government for fear that opening the market will harm local products.
There are doubts, however, whether the French government will be able to block the agreement. The country is facing a political crisis after Prime Minister Michel Barnier was ousted from office on Wednesday (Dec 4) and tends to focus on internal problems first.
WHAT CHANGES WITH THE AGREEMENT
The European Union will eliminate tariffs on 92% of imports from the South American bloc within 10 years.
Mercosur, in turn, will end 72% of tariffs on products purchased from the European bloc in the same period. The exemption will reach 91% in 15 years.
For the agricultural sector, 81.8% of what the European Union imports from Mercosur will have zero tariffs in 10 years. In the same period, 67.4% of what the South American bloc purchases will be tariff-free.
The agreement includes quotas for certain products to prevent too large an increase in sales of certain products. Among these quotas are:
- chicken – 180 thousand more tons per year;
- sugar – 180 thousand tons;
- ethanol – 450 thousand tons for industrial use and 200 thousand tons for general use;
- beef – 99 thousand tons.
There will also be relaxation of the so-called rule of origin. This will allow products sold within the agreement to have a greater volume of components imported from other countries.
In the industrial area, the European Union will eliminate tariffs on all imports from Mercosur within 10 years. In the same period, 72% of industrial products exported by the EU to the South American bloc will have their taxes reduced. The percentage rises to 90.8% in 15 years.
