Criticism of the Mercosur Agreement: Environment and Agriculture under pressure!

Criticism of the Mercosur Agreement: Environment and Agriculture under pressure!

Laimgrubengasse 10, 1060 Wien, Österreich - On December 6, 2024, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, signed the controversial trade agreement with the South American state alliance Mercosur. This step takes place despite the persistent concerns of several EU countries such as France, Italy and Poland, which warn of the possible negative consequences for the environment, climate and social justice. Green politicians, including Werner Kogler and Thomas Waitz, sharply criticize the Commission. They emphasize that the failures in the agreement on sustainable development and human rights are not portable and that domestic small farmers will suffer from the pressure of the cheap products from Mercosur, which could lead to another court. This is called “dinosaur agreements” by Kogler, which could result in fatal consequences for the environment in the Amazon region, while European agricultural policy and standards are in danger.

controversial trade contract despite resistance

Despite the argiating criticism and resistance of countries such as France and Italy, the EU Commission has successfully completed the negotiations on the new free trade zone with Mercosur. According to the Leyen, the agreement that affects more than 700 million people will be an advantage for people and companies in Europe. Workplaces are to be created, customs costs are reduced and trading procedures simplified. However, the Commission plans to split the contract in political and trade policy parts, which carries legal risks, since only the trading part may be accepted by the Member States with a simple majority, such as Tagesspiegel reported.

The prevailing skepticism also goes beyond that the environmental organizations warn that the liberalization of trade could lead to additional destruction of the rainforest. The trade agreements could promote high deforestation rates in the Amazon area and at the same time worsen the living conditions of indigenous peoples. Critics, including the Greens, fear that this will ignore important agreements on environmental and climate protection and instead the pressure on European agriculture and the environment increases. A “splitting” of the agreement is seen by many as an attempt to avoid the concerns of the governments and to ignore the countless voices from the EU that urge a real, environmentally conscious and socially just politics.