The European Parliament voted on Wednesday to refer the EU-Mercosur trade agreement to the EU Court of Justice, a move that significantly delays the deal and could potentially derail its final approval.
As expected, the vote was tight, with 334 MEPs in favour of the referral, 324 against, and 11 abstaining.
The agreement signed on 17 January, which will create a free trade area of over 700 million people, is controversial across Europe, and several countries like France and Poland have opposed it.
The agreement’s advocates consider it a major opportunity for European industries and a way to bolster the EU’s geostrategic position, especially at a time of constant friction with the United States. But it has also drawn outrage from farmers worried about the implications of cheap and lower-standard food from South American countries flooding into the European market.
I mean, obviously they don’t want competition… That’s fair enough but they aren’t the only people that live in the EU. They are already subsidised and there are provisions for more subsidies if needed.
If the deal improves trade and grows the EU economy, we can afford to subsidise them more in future when needed
Thank you for repeating your own opinion.
But how does it seem to the protesting farmers?
Thank you for repeating your question.
They are obviously not happy. Perhaps you could outline their perspective so we can have a discussion