Today, the European Parliament has adopted its resolution seeking an opinion from the Court of Justice on the compatibility with the Treaties of the proposed EU-Mercosur Partnership Agreement (EMPA) and Interim Trade Agreement (ITA).
MEPs had to face today one of the most important choices of the current term: whether or not to support the Mercosur agreement, under intense pressure from the European Commission and some Member States. Farm Europe and Eat Europe welcome the determination and dedication to democracy of the 334 MEPs who voted in favour of the resolution that should de facto suspend the ratification process of the Mercosur trade agreement.
The challenges faced today by the EU economy do not rely on a single trade agreement, but on the contrary by the capacity of the European Union and the European Commission in particular to lay down the conditions for a flourishing EU economy including when it comes to agriculture, which is not the case today, without undermining democratic processes that are the strength of the EU, internally and globally. Our values must be respected and valorised instead of considered as an obstacle.
Concerning agriculture, the agenda today on the table is going the opposite direction of the Draghi’s report. Therefore, we urge the European Commission to fully respect democracy and focus the work in the coming months on stepping up internal policies to revive EU competitiveness and resilience, pushing forward modern and forward looking trade agenda rather than out dated ones that makes agriculture the banker of all trade negotiations at a time where agriculture sovereignty is more important than ever.
O artigo foi publicado originalmente em Farm Europe.