Veryga on farmers protesting in Strasbourg: I understand that they don't trust him

European Parliament member Aurelijus Veryga says he understands the farmers protesting in Strasbourg against the European Union's (EU) free trade agreement with the Latin American bloc Mercosur.

„I understand them because, you know, when they tell you to relax, everything will be fine here, we will look into everything, there will be no double standards for those who are bringing something, I don't know, from Brazil or somewhere else, that will be subject to the same requirements. When you are told this by people who have already worked with their own hands in Europe, who have imposed some cosmic requirements, which farmers here have protested about more than once, I understand that they do not trust us," A. Veryga told Žinių radios on Wednesday.

The chairman of the Lithuanian Peasant Popular Union (LVZS) said that the decision on the EU's agreement with the Mercosur countries is a "political dilemma".

„It is not an easy decision, because there are probably industries that would benefit from such agreements - maybe the car industry, maybe some other industries. There is really a political dilemma here, how to make sure (...) that our agriculture does not really suffer, because we hear the farmers," he said.

„I heard, and I listened to the discussion myself in Lithuania, (…) when farmers gave such colourful examples that one cooperative in Brazil is bigger than all the beef cattle farmers in Lithuania put together. (...) Naturally, people are worried and protesting," added Mr Veryga.

The EU and the Latin American trade bloc „Mercosur“ signed on Saturday a controversial and long-awaited free trade agreement. The agreement creates one of the largest free trade areas in the world, covering more than 700 million people and around 22 trillion United States (US) dollars worth of products.

Farmers' protests began in Strasbourg on Tuesday. The protest comes ahead of a vote in the European Parliament on a possible referral to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) over the agreement.