TVP | 25 June 2025
EU-South America trade deal must not ‘sacrifice agriculture,’ says Polish minister
Poland’s agriculture minister has reiterated his country’s opposition to a trade deal between the European Union and a bloc of South American countries, saying that farming should not be “sacrificed” for gains in other sectors.
The controversial agreement with the Mercosur union—which includes countries such as Brazil and Argentina—was finalized in December but still needs to be ratified by EU member states.
Farmers in Poland and elsewhere have staged large protests against the deal, claiming the agrifood sector is set to lose out because of generous import quotas on meat from South American partner countries.
Common front
After a bilateral meeting in Paris on Wednesday, Poland’s and France’s agriculture ministers put on a common front, confirming they will not back the plans in their current form.
The Polish official, Czesław Siekierski, said the deal would lead to excessive imports of Mercosur-produced poultry and beef to the EU, Poland’s PAP state news agency reported. Siekierski said European producers could be “pushed out of those markets where they currently export to, even within the EU.”
He added: “We believe that giving Mercosur countries access to the EU’s agricultural markets cannot be the price for EU access to the markets of the Mercosur countries in other sectors. We cannot sacrifice agriculture for gains in other sectors.”
Both Siekierski and his French counterpart, Annie Genevard, emphasized that the battle against concluding the Mercosur deal continued. Genevard accused the European Commission of trying to “force through” the deal without taking heed of members states’ and citizens’ concerns.
‘Serious concerns’
“There are serious concerns because the commission wants to force it through,” she said, quoted by French news agency AFP. “It’s very serious. The member states were not really involved in the negotiations—farmers even less so.”
The French minister said that Hungary, Austria, Ireland, the Netherlands, Romania and Italy share Paris’s and Warsaw’s concerns.
However, it is not clear whether these countries are prepared to vote against the trade deal when it comes before the European Council.
EU officials are expected to propose a ratification vote this summer. At least four countries totaling at least 35% of the EU’s population would have to formally oppose the deal in order to block it.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron has argued the agreement could be improved with the addition of mirror clauses. But EU agriculture commissioner Christophe Hansen told Reuters earlier this month that the suggestion was not “helpful,” saying it would require reopening negotiations.
Defending the trade deal, Hansen said: “I see from many different parts of the agriculture and food sector, they are really looking [forward to] having these new opportunities.”
