EU-MERCOSUR: a unilateral safeguard clause without teeth

Farm Europe welcomes the decision from the European Parliament to withdraw the urgent procedure concerning the Regulation on the bilateral safeguard clause of the EU-Mercosur Association Agreement.

Prior to the vote, Farm Europe warned the MEPs that the urgent procedure would have undermined the capacity of the European Parliament to properly work on how to improve such a mechanism. In its current form, the draft safeguard clause would simply be inefficient.

Only an automatic mechanism – with clear triggering mechanism – would offer a minimum safety net, yet without replacing real reciprocity measures that are still lacking in the agreement, which is still unbalanced, offers no guarantees of safety and economic viability for EU farmers and consumers. 

Opposing today’s request for urgent procedure is a first step to stop the permanent attacks again the European Parliament’s responsibilities. Such a discussion on safeguards is not a mere formality. It is instead a strategic matter where the European Parliament shall fully exercise its mandate.

The timing of the urgent procedure envisaged initially — on the eve of the December plenary and European Council — revealed an intention to secure the Mercosur deal, while limiting democratic, parliamentary, and public scrutiny. 

The rejection of the request for an urgent procedure will open the possibility of amending the text on a proposal with far-reaching implications for EU agriculture and consumers and constitutes an important opportunity to make this clause effective. 

The EU-Mercosur deal would weaken the EU’s internal agricultural market and threaten the viability of rural economies, undermine the principle of reciprocity by allowing imports produced under lower standards, jeopardise the EU’s environmental and climate objectives, and erode the EU’s credibility as a global leader in sustainable development.

Trade agreements can be powerful tools for economic growth, but only when they are built on fairness, reciprocity, and environmental responsibility. The EU-Mercosur deal fails on all these fronts.