On 13 January, Fairkoperativ, a cooperative of dairy farmers in Luxembourg, hosted Minister of Agriculture Martine Hansen and the new European Commissioner for Agriculture, Christophe Hansen, for a screening of the documentary “Trainée de poudre”.

Just before the Christmas holidays – on 17 December 2024 – a very interesting article was published in the “Schweizer Bauer” trade magazine called “Butter imports: here’s how much money was made”. It looked at the millions earned by the Swiss Confederation in customs duties from the thousands of tonnes of butter imported to Switzerland between 2020 and 2023.

Alongside several Walloon and European agricultural organisations, MIG is taking a firm stance against the free-trade agreement between the European Union and the Mercosur countries. This agreement poses a direct threat to agriculture, the environment and food security in Europe by nullifying all sustainability efforts.

We call on all agricultural and consumer organisations to mobilise together against this agreement, to defend sustainable farming in Europe and to safeguard the interests of farmers and consumers.

Impact of the EU-Mercosur agreement

Farmers faced with unfair competition: While the EU imposes strict standards on its own farmers, it is opening the door to products that do not uphold these European standards. We do not believe that mirror clauses will be effective, especially because of the real challenges linked to monitoring and implementing them. Cheaper products from Mercosur countries, produced in a barely regulated, intensive production model at much lower cost, present direct unfair competition against European farmers. This imbalance threatens the income and weakens the economic viability of European farms.

Incompatible with climate goals: Increasing agricultural exports from the Mercosur countries, especially beef, will further accelerate deforestation in the Amazon and thus climate change. What’s more, more long-haul transport of goods produces additional pollution. This contradicts Europe’s climate goals and the commitments undertaken within the context of the Green Deal.

A blow to food sovereignty and food security: By making Europe dependant on global markets for its food supply, this agreement endangers food sovereignty and the resilience of our local supply chains. Furthermore, farming in the Mercosur countries uses pesticides and products like growth hormones that are banned in Europe. This poses a health risk to European consumers and is detrimental to food security in Europe.

We call upon the farming sector to mobilise for a sustainable future

Faced with these challenges, a joint mobilisation of Europe’s agricultural stakeholders is essential. This is what we propose:

• Local and European coordination, with common demands: organise simultaneous actions in as many European countries as possible to engage with policy-makers, raise awareness among citizens and demand that the EU-Mercosur negotiations be halted.
• A fair and sustainable trade policy: call for a trade policy that protects European farmers and consumers and respects the principles of sustainable development.

We strongly believe that the strength of a collective movement is the only way to influence political decisions. In this context, staying silent would be tacit approval of this agreement with Mercosur, along with all its negative consequences. In Belgium, agricultural organisations beyond the dairy sector have already come together to organise joint actions against this agreement. Together, we issue a clear demand: stop the EU-Mercosur negotiations and defend sustainable, fair agriculture in Europe. We hope that this movement will resonate with other agricultural organisations within the European Union.

Let’s act together to say NO to Mercosur!

Let’s act together to make our voice heard for a sustainable and fair future for farming!

Christian Wiertz, President of Milcherzeuger-Interessengemeinschaft (MIG)

Representatives of several farmers’ associations have criticised Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz in an open letter. They accuse him of stepping on the brakes in the negotiations currently taking place in Brussels to introduce a European contractual obligation for the milk sector. Together they called upon Scholz to take a clear, resolute stance at the EU Agriculture Council at the end of January in order to improve the negotiating position of dairy farmers on the European level.