Rural producers in Poland are holding a protest in Warsaw this Friday (9) against the agreement after more than two decades of negotiations.
The demonstration takes place in Plac Defilad square, in the center of the Polish capital. Before the event, the President of Poland, Karol Nawrocki, met with representatives of the farmers involved in organizing the protest.
Days earlier, farmers even blocked the Medyka border, in the southeast of the country, interrupting one of the main land trade routes. The strike was only suspended after the government publicly committed to voting against the agreement with Mercosur.
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The Polish Minister of Agriculture, Czeslaw Siekierski, personally went to the site to negotiate with the protesters and stated, in a publication in X, that opposition to the treaty would be formalized as a position of the government and Parliament.
“We maintain our unquestionable opposition to the treaty with Mercosur, as farmers demand,” he wrote. According to him, the fear is the entry of cheaper agricultural products with less stringent health rules, harming local producers.
The approval of the agreement was formalized at a meeting of ambassadors in Brussels, according to diplomats interviewed by international agencies, and occurred after weeks of strong political pressure and protests by farmers in different European countries.
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The approval of the Member States came after the incorporation of safeguard mechanisms aimed at the agricultural sector, a central point of criticism of the agreement. The text will still need to be approved by the European Parliament to fully enter into force.
Protests in the field anticipated the decision
Producers claim that the agreement could result in a significant entry of cheaper food into the Polish and European markets, which, according to them, threatens the competitiveness of local farmers. The fear is shared by rural sectors in other European Union countries, who see the treaty as a risk for agricultural chains considered sensitive.
The decision was preceded by intense demonstrations by farmers, especially in France and Poland, which highlighted the political cost of the agreement within the EU. In Paris, such as the Arc de Triomphe and areas close to the Eiffel Tower.
There were clashes with the police, blocking of strategic roads and harassment of authorities, including the president of the National Assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet, who had to be removed by security guards after booing and throwing liquids.
According to French Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot, the blockages caused around 150 kilometers of congestion on highways leading to the capital.
Safeguards and concessions
Faced with the escalation of protests, the European Commission presented concessions to unlock the support necessary for the approval of the agreement. Among them, the anticipation of €45 billion in resources for farmers in the bloc’s next budget and the reduction of import tariffs on certain fertilizers.
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Italy played a central role in negotiating safeguards. The Minister of Agriculture, Francesco Lollobrigida, defended stricter criteria for the automatic suspension of agricultural imports from Mercosur.
O in the event of an excessive increase in imports or a significant drop in prices on the European market. “We want this 8% limit to be reduced to 5%,” Lollobrigida told the newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore.
The safeguards were decisive in consolidating the majority among the 27 member states, even with no votes from France, Poland, Hungary, Austria and Ireland. Belgium chose to abstain.
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Isolated France and political wear and tear
France, the main organizer of resistance to the agreement, ended up isolated in the process. The newspaper The World published , assessing that Paris relied on an excessively defensive discourse on the agricultural sector and missed the opportunity to influence the final design of the treaty.
According to the newspaper, Italy’s decision to support the agreement made the formation of a blocking minority unfeasible and exposed France to a “diplomatic embarrassment”, as Macron had publicly promised not to endorse the text.
The editorial also warns of the risk of the handling of the issue reinforcing, in public opinion, the perception of impotence of French politics at a time of internal fragility.
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Ireland formally joined the opposing bloc. Deputy Prime Minister Simon Harris said it was “as presented” even after additional concessions, citing lingering concerns about the impact on the farming sector.
