Controversial EU Mercosur Pact: Greenpeace demands direct stop!

Controversial EU Mercosur Pact: Greenpeace demands direct stop!

Laimgrubengasse 10, 1060 Wien, Österreich - The controversial EU Mercosur trading pact is about to be completed, but criticism of this agreement is getting louder. Greenpeace has once again vehemently protested against the deal that could endanger nature and Austrian agriculture. According to the organization, the pact brings massive profits for large corporations, while at the same time leading to increased destruction of the environment, especially the Amazon. Sebastian Theissing-Matei, agricultural expert at Greenpeace, said: "Neither the Amazon nor our farmers can be sacrificed at the altar of free trade." After the negotiations between the EU Commission and the South American Confederation of Mercosur have almost been completed, the EU countries are now facing a coordination. In countries such as France, Poland and Austria, there are already clear negative votes against the agreement, as also show Integral's survey results, which state that 87 percent of Austrians are against it. This reports Apa-OTS

Despite the violent criticism, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks up and describes the agreement as the "largest trade and investment partnership that the world has ever seen". On Friday, a final decision in the free trade negotiations will be expected in Montevideo, at the Mercosur summit. The importance of a common economic zone with 700 million people underlines from the Leyen, which is said to be advantageous for both regions by the abolition of tariffs. However, many EU countries are skeptical about the project, which leads to nationwide protests, especially in France and Belgium, where farmers fear for their future. The German Farmers' Association has recently called for a stop of the negotiations and warns of declining the quality standards. These critical voices reaffirm the concerns that the agreement could endanger the ecological standards and to fuel the deforestation in the Amazon, such as Zeit reported.