Ambassador to the EU: MERCOSUR agreement aimed to ensure the best conditions for farmers

After the European Union (EU) countries approved a controversial trade agreement with the South American bloc MERCOSUR, the Lithuanian ambassador to Brussels says Lithuania has actively participated in the process in order to achieve the best conditions for its farmers.

„It seems to me that we were certainly active participants (...). Certainly Lithuania – both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Agriculture – have been active participants, because first of all we tried to find the best conditions for our farmers, so that there would be no negative impact“, – said Nerijus Aleksiejūnas to Žinių radios on Tuesday.

„Negotiations have lasted 25 years, that's a very long period indeed – probably one of the longest periods where we had to spend that much time trying to find a consensus. This is truly a historic event," he said.

According to the Ambassador, the negotiations focused on possible compensatory mechanisms and the provision of additional funds for those sectors that could suffer the negative consequences of Mercosur.

„It is also very important that certain safeguards have already been foreseen. If export volumes start to increase or the price of products starts to fall and this has an impact on the whole of Europe, certain mechanisms are triggered when the (European – BNS) Commission starts to carry out investigations. This is again a kind of guarantee that there will not be that kind of negative impact on our agricultural sector," Aleksiejūnas said.

He said the agreement creates a market of 700 million consumers, which will open up opportunities for Lithuanian businesses to export more actively to South American countries. The Ambassador said he hoped that "Lithuania will be able to take advantage of this".

N. Aleksiejūnas said that „there is a constant dialogue with the farming community, trying to understand the problems“.

„There have been many attempts to look for those possible solutions, but the agreement is about everything, it is certainly much broader than just agricultural products. It was very important to help this sector of ours, which is very important, but also to prepare for the positive things that come out of this agreement," said the Ambassador.

From a geopolitical point of view, the Mercosur agreement is important because it reduces Europe's dependence on China: "Such agreements open up new opportunities for cooperation, for intensifying trade and, in fact, for becoming less dependent on the large Chinese market.

BNS wrote that a majority of the EU's 27 ambassadors voted in favour of the pact at a meeting in Brussels on 9 January, despite opposition from France, Ireland and others concerned about the impact on the agricultural sector.

Mercosur's main export commodities to the EU will be agricultural products and minerals, while Community members will export machinery, chemicals and pharmaceuticals. In addition, the agreement allows for the elimination of import tariffs on more than 90% of products.

But many European farmers fear that the goods they grow and supply will be outcompeted by cheaper products from agricultural giants such as Brazil and neighbouring countries.