Walloon farmers to protest in Brussels against EU-Mercosur trade deal
Farmers from Wallonia will demonstrate next week in the European quarter in Brussels. Dozens of tractors are expected in the capital on Wednesday in protest against a proposed trade agreement between the European Union and the Mercosur bloc.
The Walloon agricultural association Fugea fears that the European Commission will push for the agreement to be finalised at the G20 summit in Brasilia on 18 and 19 November.
Farmers in Wallonia and elsewhere in Europe see the deal as unfair competition because it would lead to more imports of agricultural products from the Mercosur countries – Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. This mainly concerns beef, “which we already produce here, and better”, Fugea says.
“The agreement is a danger to the planet and our farmers,” the organisation said when announcing the protest on Thursday. “It goes against the Green Deal ambitions and the strategic agricultural dialogue.”
"The agreement is a danger to the planet and our farmers"
Boerenbond, the union representing farmers in Belgium's Flemish and German-speaking communities, spoke out last week against the proposed trade agreement, calling it a threat to European agriculture.
It warned that issues such as traceability, food safety, biodiversity, animal welfare and crop protection are assessed differently in the Mercosur countries, with insufficient checks and guarantees.
Belgium and several other European countries saw major protests by farmers in the spring. The anger now focuses not only on Mercosur but also on European and federal authorities’ handling of the bluetongue epidemic.
According to Fugea, the farmers do not understand why the Commission has not taken a European approach, such as through group purchases of vaccines. In addition, farmers are unhappy with Belgium’s federal government for making farmers bear the cost of vaccination themselves.
Farmers protest in Brussels in February 2024 © BELGA PHOTO NICOLAS MAETERLINCK
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