Farmers must not be sacrificed for the profit of a few industries, lawmaker says on Mercosur

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Farmers must not be sacrificed for the profit of a few industries, lawmaker says on Mercosur  The EU’s South American trade deal risks becoming another blow to European farmers as Brussels moves to cut agricultural spending, Green MEP Thomas Waitz warned. The deal has entered a crucial week in Strasbourg and Brussels.  READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/12/16/farmers-must-not-be-sacrified-for-the-profit-of-a-few-industries-lawmaker-says-on-mercosur  Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages

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00:00For more on this, we can cross straight over to the European Parliament in Strasbourg

00:03and bring in Euronews' EU editor, Maria Tadeo.

00:06Good morning, Maria. What is the latest on this?

00:10Well, good morning, Maeve. So close yet, so far, it's a massive trade deal that could be signed

00:16with Latin American countries, including, of course, Brazil and Argentina.

00:20The head of the European Commission, as you said, was supposed to get on a flight

00:24on December 20th, but that is now excused upon up in the air

00:28because the French are calling for a delay to this vote.

00:31Germany and Spain are pushing to get it done.

00:34They see big business opportunity, but it now hangs really in the hands

00:38and in the balance of the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni.

00:42She could decide whether there's a qualified majority to get it through the finish line

00:47or a blocking minority enough to grind this to a halt.

00:51Now, to debrief, we are joined indeed by Thomas Weitz,

00:54who is a member of the European Parliament, for the Greens.

00:58Of course, you oppose this deal. Why?

01:02Because some would argue at this point it justifies a logic.

01:06Well, it might be a good deal for industry, but we are sacrificing small and medium-scale farmers.

01:10We're putting them into an unfair competition

01:12while cutting the funds for farming in the European Union at the same time.

01:16We have a situation where, you know, pesticides are used in South America

01:20that are banned in the European Union.

01:23They have no control over the origin of beef.

01:25They have no control over the use of antibiotics as gross promoters.

01:29So that's double standards.

01:30OK, you say it's double standards.

01:31But when the commission say we have done everything to include the safeguards,

01:35and by the way, you're going to vote that here,

01:37when they say you will get compensated, if there is unfair competition,

01:40are they lying or what?

01:41Well, the safeguards, this is kind of a tranquilizer, you know,

01:45a sedative, especially for the French farmers.

01:47Basically, this is already in the trade agreement,

01:50and it's just the implementation legislation.

01:52There's nothing new about that.

01:53These safeguard mechanisms will only start working

01:56after the damage has been done to the market.

01:58And as a farmer, you only go bankrupt once,

02:00because if you're bankrupt, then your land is owned by the bank, and it's over.

02:04OK, but let's talk about the farmers,

02:06because some would argue the opposition to Mercosur

02:08has nothing to do with the terms now.

02:10It really is about, and I say this with all due respect,

02:13the farming lobby and the subsidies around it.

02:16And ultimately, it comes down to money.

02:18How do you respond to that?

02:19Well, it's the big farming industry that will profit,

02:21and it's the massive amount of small and medium farmers

02:24that will pay the price.

02:26So if this is the farming lobby that you're talking about here,

02:29I'm also part of the lobby that lobbies for small-scale farmers.

02:32Because if we lose them, we lose the rural areas,

02:35we lose infrastructure in rural areas,

02:36we also lose the ability to supply our population

02:39independently with food.

02:42And this is, I think, a high value that we should protect.

02:44What about those who say there's geopolitical value?

02:46This is a new alliance with Latin American countries.

02:49What you're doing is short-sighted,

02:50and it's also dangerous at this moment in time.

02:52Well, there is absolutely geopolitical value in this,

02:55but then support the European farmers.

02:57You cannot cut the funds for the farmers by 20%,

03:00literally, and by 40% if you include inflation.

03:03Then support the farmers, right, and don't sacrifice them

03:07just for the profit of a few multinational companies or European industry.

03:11Okay, so how is this going to end then?

03:12Because the clock is really ticking.

03:14Some say if this flops on December 20th, that's it.

03:16Mercosur is dead and left for good now.

03:19So how will this end, and what can we put on the table

03:22in four days to get it through the finish line?

03:24Well, the Commission can still promise that they adjust

03:26the so-called multi-annual financial framework,

03:29so the budget for the next seven years,

03:31and support farmers in, you know, being able to survive this.

03:34They cannot do this in four days, and you know this very well.

03:37The deadline is December 20th.

03:38They cannot change the budget in four days.

03:39The Commission can.

03:40If there's a political will, they can come out with the communication

03:43and give promises at least.

03:45It's not a final decision, but they can see

03:47that they take the worries of farmers serious,

03:49and they also do this to make this deal happen.

03:52Of course, a lot of this now depends, too,

03:55on the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgio Meloni.

03:57The French are now calling for a delay to this vote.

04:00She could decide which way it goes.

04:02So which way is it going to go?

04:03I think she's going to carve in, as she did in many occasions.

04:07Unfortunately, that's what I expect from Giorgio Meloni.

04:09Because she's weak? She's weak?

04:11Because she has a tradition in promising

04:13and not fulfilling her promises.

04:15Okay, well, thank you very much for joining us, Srin.

04:18Of course, Maeve, that was Thomas Weitz,

04:21who is a member of the European Parliament,

04:23and, of course, the Green Party.

04:25A vote is expected, too, on the safeguards,

04:27but the big vote, Maeve, will be the member states.

04:30And we just talked about it really comes down to Rome.

04:33And Giorgio Meloni, she has the power

04:35either to delay it and possibly kill it

04:37or make it fly.

04:39It does indeed.

04:39Maria Tadeo, thank you so much for that live update

04:42from quite a quiet Strasbourg this morning.

04:44And thanks, of course, to the Austrian MEP, Thomas Weitz, as well.

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