European Farmers Protest Against EU-Mercosur Deal in Strasbourg

Farmers from across the European Union on January 20 staged hours-long demonstrations outside the European Parliament in Strasbourg today, urging MEPs not to ratify the Mercosur trade agreement signed late last week. Around 40 grain producers from Bulgaria also took part in the protest.

According to both Bulgarian and European farmers, the agreement with Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay prioritises industrial interests over agriculture, opening new markets at the expense of European farmers. MEPs also debated Europe’s response to US President Donald Trump’s threats to acquire Greenland.

Tensions ran high in Strasbourg as farmers voiced their frustration, claiming the deal is unfair and that politicians had betrayed them. Agricultural producers from at least 17 EU countries participated in today’s protest, united by concerns that they will struggle to compete with cheap farm products imported from Mercosur countries.

Bulgarian farmers additionally expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of communication between them and the government. They said no one sought their opinion prior to Bulgaria’s support of the Mercosur deal and are now demanding a meeting with outgoing Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov.

While the European Parliament is scheduled to ratify the deal later this year, tomorrow MEPs will vote on whether to refer the agreement to the Court of Justice of the EU, to determine if it complies with EU treaties. On Thursday, the EP will also vote on another vote of no confidence against Ursula von der Leyen over the Mercosur agreement.

Ilija Prodanov - President of the National Association of Grain Growers:
"We urge the European Parliament to put an end to the hypocrisy that the European Commission is starting with the Mercosur agreement.

The agricultural chapter of the deal is poorly considered, unbalanced, and will devastate European farming. The entire government has supported the Mercosur agreement without any clear explanation or justification. There has been neither a public statement from the Council of Ministers nor any public consultation. The decision was made without analysis, without properly informing the public, and without debate. We have sent a letter to the Prime Minister requesting clarification on how the process was conducted, why it was not public, who made the decision, on what basis, and why the agricultural sector was not consulted."

Jean-Paul Marcel, French Farmer:

"In France, as across Europe, farmgate prices have not changed for decades, yet our costs have increased many times over, including the price of materials. Environmental standards are very high, and that is understandable, but we are being asked to meet ever greater demands. With this deal, we will start importing products from the other side of the Atlantic that do not comply with environmental standards and use pesticides that have been banned here for 20–25 years. This is not acceptable."

Petko Cherkenov, Grain Farmer from Plovdiv:
"We are here with a clear purpose – we do not want Mercosur, because it is not advantageous for us farmers across Europe. The production costs of agricultural goods in Mercosur countries are lower, which means they will sell at prices below ours. They do not comply with European regulations."

Stoyan Markov, Grain Farmer from Plovdiv:
"We have come primarily to call for the reduction or complete removal of import tariffs on fertilisers, and to oppose the potential signing of the carbon deal. If it is signed, the prices of machinery, spare parts, fuel, oil, and fertilisers will increase. Our production simply would not be profitable."

photos by BTA