On December 6, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen signed an agreement in Montevideo, Uruguay, to establish the world’s largest free trade zone between the European Union and the South American common market, Mercosur.
She called the agreement a victory for Europe. “It will be mutually beneficial for our 700 million consumers,” she said.
The European Parliament must approve the agreement, and EU member states must ratify it. The European Commission President said she looks forward to discussing this matter with the EU countries.
Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay established Mercosur, the largest economic and trade alliance in South America. These countries collectively occupy more than 70% of South America’s landmass and have a population of 295 million.
There is a protest by European farmers against the Mercosur agreement and EU agricultural policy.
On December 9, several farmers from Spain, Poland, France, Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands conducted a demonstration in front of the European Council building in Brussels, where the EU agriculture and fisheries ministers were convening. Farmers displayed banners with the slogans “SOS—Agricultural Products” and “EU Farmer—An Endangered Species.”
The demonstrators are opposed to the EU’s broader agricultural policies, as well as the free trade agreement with Mercosur.
The protest slogan is “EU–Mercosur, who will pay the bill?” This agreement will lead to the importation of 99,000 tons of cattle, 180,000 tons of poultry, 25,000 tons of pork, and hundreds of thousands of tons of other products into Europe at exorbitant prices. Arias, a farmer from southern France, asserted that Latin American farmers are not bound to comply with the EU’s “green requirements,” leading to a twofold increase in production costs for European farmers.
France, the EU’s greatest agricultural producer, has consistently opposed the Mercosur agreement. The French farmers and livestock producers are seeking assurances that their Latin American competitors will adhere to EU standards regarding health and environmental concerns, such as pesticides and antibiotics.
Minister of Agriculture Annie Genevard has previously stated in an interview with France Bleu Besançon that France is reaching out to other EU countries, such as the Netherlands, Italy, and Poland, to form a “veto minority” in order to block the deal. She termed it “a bad agreement that deeply dissatisfies farmers.”
Nevertheless, Bloomberg has characterized French President Emmanuel Macron as “powerless in the face of the EU’s trade intrigues,” due to his excessive emphasis on foreign policy at the expense of national interests.
According to Alecia Miloradovich, a research fellow at the Paris Academy of Geopolitics, there is speculation that Macron, under the influence of US investment giant BlackRock, has failed to address the unavoidable demise of French farmers as a result of the free trade agreement with Latin America, which provides subsidies to agricultural industries. She observed that BlackRock has control over significant Latin American agricultural companies, such as the Brazilian beef behemoth JBS, and intends to exploit this to establish market dominance in the European agricultural sector.
For years, European agriculture has been in a state of severe crisis, with Brussels failing to provide any effective assistance.
This winter, the accumulation of issues in the agricultural sector has prompted a widespread mobilization of European farmers, a phenomenon not seen in years. The Heinrich Böll Foundation’s analysts observe that the primary challenges are structural and pervasive across the continent, despite the fact that the issues vary by country.
Experts predict a significant decline in the French agricultural sector, citing the inability to replace half of the country’s retiring producers.
The EU’s decision to divert energy supplies from Russia has resulted in high energy prices, which have resulted in uncompetitive production costs in comparison to foreign producers.
Subsequently, the farmgate prices are either stagnant or declining, rendering numerous agricultural enterprises unsustainable. In France, 15% of farmers live below the poverty line, and similar risks loom for German farmers, especially retirees.
Cheap imports from nations not subject to the EU’s strict environmental standards flood the European market, driving up production costs for EU farmers. Bilateral agreements frequently permit these products to circulate duty-free.
The manipulation of prices by intermediaries throughout the supply chain has a detrimental impact on both producers and consumers, resulting in the complete abandonment of agriculture by a significant number of farmers. This also speeds up the depopulation of rural areas.
The concentration of farmland ownership in the hands of a few is a result of the rapid replacement of small family farms by large agricultural companies.
The EU’s Green Deal, aiming to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, has faced criticism for neglecting the economic viability of farmers. Farmers, who lack assurances of consistent and sufficient incomes, bear a disproportionate burden of the transition.
Analysts caution that the agricultural sector of the European Union may vanish completely as it prioritizes climate objectives.
In this context, the European agricultural industry appears to be “doomed,” as Latin American agribusinesses, with the support of influential entities such as BlackRock, are on the brink of conquering the EU’s food supply and transforming Europe into an agricultural “crypto-colony.”