The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Florin-Ionut Barbu, requested, in Brussels, additional guarantees for Romanian farmers and the maintenance of a fair common agricultural policy and did not sign the Memorandum submitted by the Ministry of Economy regarding the EU-Mercosur Agreement, the minister declared on Friday in a Facebook post.
"We asked Brussels for additional guarantees for our farmers and the maintenance of a fair common agricultural policy, which would provide real support to Romanian farms and villages! I stand with Romanian farmers and I did not sign the Memorandum submitted by the Ministry of Economy regarding the EU-Mercosur Agreement," Barbu wrote.
The Minister of Agriculture participated on Wednesday and Thursday at the Meeting of Agriculture Ministers of the European Union, a meeting dedicated to political discussions on the future of the Common Agricultural Policy and the EU-Mercosur Agreement.
According to a press release from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the discussions were attended by Christophe Hansen, European Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, Maros Sefcovic, European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, and Oliver Varhelyi, European Commissioner for Animal Health and Welfare.
"I also conveyed to the European Commissioners that it is mandatory for this Agreement to guarantee that imports from third countries comply with standards equivalent to those applicable to EU farmers, including in the fields of food safety, environmental protection, pesticide use or animal welfare. It is our duty to ensure that products entering the European market comply with phytosanitary and sanitary-veterinary standards, by testing them in the laboratories of each member state," the minister also wrote on Facebook.
The Romanian official also requested that the EU-Mercosur Agreement provide for the possibility of its suspension in the event that the volume of imports under preferential conditions exceeds the average of the last three years by 5% or in the event that prices are affected by more than 5% compared to the average of the last three years. In this regard, each member state must have the possibility to license economic operators that carry out import-export operations of agri-food products.
According to the minister, regarding the future Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), Romania continues to oppose the integration of the CAP into a Single Plan or Common Fund. Barbu believes that the CAP must remain a distinct policy, structured on two pillars, capable of supporting farmers' incomes and the investments necessary for a sustainable and competitive agriculture.
"I continue to support the voluntary nature of the capping and degressivity of payments, maintaining the N+3 rule, simplifying performance indicators and eliminating social conditionality," explained the Minister of Agriculture.
He also asked the European Commission to publish the budget for the new CAP in an official document, not "through letters and notes, which have no legal value." Barbu also called for the withdrawal of the document published in June on the post-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework and the publication of a new document containing the clear amounts due to each member state.
"Regarding the CBAM - Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, we requested the exclusion of fertilizers from the application or the postponement of the application of the mechanism for this sector, until the operationalization of the reference and procurement systems, given their essential role in ensuring production and food security", Minister Florin Barbu also pointed out.
After more than 25 years of negotiations, the European Union is on the verge of concluding a trade agreement with Mercosur, which could receive the approval of member states on Friday, despite the anger of farmers and the opposition of France, AFP reports.
Since 1999, the European Commission has been engaged in difficult negotiations to create one of the world's largest free trade areas with Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. The negotiations have stalled for years over the agriculture issue.
France remains opposed to the deal, as Emmanuel Macron announced Thursday evening, citing a "unanimous rejection" by the French political class. In these circumstances, the European Union is preparing to approve a trade agreement against the wishes of the continent's main agricultural power, a situation that is practically unprecedented.
Paris explains, however, that the game is not over, because the agreement, even if signed, must still be ratified by the European Parliament in a few weeks.
The vote could be narrowed in the European Parliament, where national considerations will prevail. Around 150 MEPs (out of 720) want to take action to try to block the implementation of the agreement.
Poland, Hungary, Ireland and Austria are also expected to vote against it, but despite this they will not succeed in blocking the agreement.
This treaty between the EU and four Mercosur countries would create a free trade area of over 700 million consumers, a move demanded by the business community. The elimination of a large part of the tariffs would stimulate European exports of cars, machinery, wine and cheese. In return, it would facilitate the entry into Europe of beef, poultry, sugar, rice, honey and soybeans from South America, with duty-free quotas that alarm the affected sectors.
Comentează