European farming association Copa-Cogeca has urged the EU to reject the EU-Mercosur trade agreement, which it says risks further destabilising the agricultural sector
Copa-Cogeca, backed by a broad coalition of agri-food organisations, has called on EU lawmakers to reject the EU–Mercosur trade agreement, warning that it remains fundamentally unbalanced and harmful to European agriculture.
The appeal comes just two days before a large-scale farmers’ protest in Brussels and follows a vote in the European Parliament on the proposed Safeguard Regulation linked to the agreement.
While acknowledging efforts by MEPs to strengthen the implementing legislation and to respond to concerns raised by farmers and agri-food operators across the EU, Copa-Cogeca stressed that the regulation cannot address the deep structural flaws of the agreement itself, nor provide effective protection for sensitive agricultural sectors.
“The safeguards proposed remain insufficient to prevent market disruption, fail to ensure a genuine level playing field in light of divergent production standards, and do not offer credible guarantees to EU farmers and manufacturers already operating under much stricter regulatory and economic constraints,” Copa-Cogeca stated.
This week, around 10,000 farmers from more than 40 national organisations across 27 member states are expected to march in Brussels to highlight the severity of the crisis facing the sector. Among their key demands is fair and transparent trade policy.
Copa-Cogeca warned that signing and ratifying the EU–Mercosur agreement would send “an unequivocally wrong political signal”.
“It would risk further destabilising an already fragile agricultural sector and erode trust in European policymaking,” it said. “We therefore call on Member States to take responsibility in the upcoming Council discussions and reject the EU-Mercosur Agreement in its current form. Supporting Europe’s agriculture means ensuring fairness, competitiveness and long-term sustainability. Those that feed Europe must not be asked to bear the cost of an unbalanced trade agreement.”
