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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