2025-12-16 13:16, updated 2025-12-16 13:34
publication
2025-12-16 13:16
update
2025-12-16 13:34
On Tuesday, the European Parliament in Strasbourg voted on a strengthened protection clause in the EU's trade agreement with the Mercosur countries. This is intended to allow the Community to react faster in the event of a drop in prices of products such as beef and eggs as a result of imports from countries in this South American bloc.
MEPs voted in favor of amendments that strengthen the regulation proposed by the European Commission on the safeguard clause in the trade agreement with Mercosur. The clause is intended to provide the EU with an emergency brake in situations where, after the trade agreement enters into force, the inflow of certain agricultural products from Mercosur countries, e.g. beef or eggs, begins to threaten EU farmers.
The adopted amendments provide that this procedure, which may lead to the closure of one market or the entire EU to imports from Mercosur, will be triggered when prices of sensitive products in the EU will fall by 5%. – and not by 10 percent, as originally proposed – and the price difference will be measured on a quarterly basis. The EC will have to react in such a situation within 14, not 21 daysi. An amendment was also passed requiring producers exporting to the EU to comply with EU standards.
This is not the end of the legislative process – the final text of the regulation will be agreed in negotiations between the European Parliament and the Member States, which may take place this week.
Countries are waiting for the protection clause with a final vote on the entire trade agreement with Mercosur.
The European Parliament's Foreign Trade Committee on December 11 this year. voted on a draft regulation implementing the safeguard clause of the EU-Mercosur agreement with regard to agricultural products. It also included some of the amendments submitted by Polish MEPs, including: extending the list of protected products to include class A and class B eggs and initiating protective measures when imports from Mercosur increase by more than 5%, and not 10% as previously proposed, as well as shortening the time for investigations regarding disruptions on the EU market from six months to three months.
The agreement with the Mercosur bloc of countries (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia, Uruguay) will establish tariff preferences for certain agricultural products from these countries, such as beef, poultry, dairy, sugar and ethanol. Thanks to the proposed amendments, preferences for these countries can be withdrawn if there is a sharp increase in imports or a fall in prices.
Krajewski appealed for support for amendments to the agreement with Mercosur
On Tuesday, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Stefan Krajewski, appealed to all member states and MEPs to support the amendments of Polish MEPs to the agreement with the Mercosur countries.
– We meet today at a critical moment; In Brussels, the fate of not only Polish agriculture and Polish farms, but also the food security of the whole of Europe for the next decades hangs in the balance (…). The agreement with the Mercosur countries is a gun to the head of the European farmer, said the minister at a press conference.
– Today I would like to remind you once again that Poland says NO. This is supported by tough resolutions, diplomacy and determination that our predecessors lacked, emphasized Krajewski.
He emphasized that this is the official position of the Polish state. – We oppose the agreement in this form. We have built an “iron” alliance with France and together we are blocking the attempt to divide the agreement into parts, which would deprive us of the right to vote – noted the head of the Ministry of Agriculture.
– MEPs Krzysztof Hetman and Dariusz Joński submitted amendments to the European Parliament that will protect our market in the event of a worst-case scenario regarding the Mercosur agreement, said Krajewski.
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