EU countries should not ratify the free trade agreement with the Mercosur countries as long as those South American countries do not comply with international environmental and climate agreements. The EU should also impose an import ban on Argentine meat products. This is the position of the ENVI Committee on the Environment and the AGRI Committee on Agriculture in the European Parliament.
With this stance, these two committees align themselves with earlier positions of international environmental organizations and European agricultural organizations. They have pointed out that in Brazil, almost nothing is done to stop the clearing and burning of parts of the Amazon rainforest. They consider this incompatible with the strict environmental criteria that the EU nowadays imposes on itself.
These two committees have taken a joint position on the Farm to Fork (F2F) strategy of European Climate, Food, and Agriculture Commissioners Timmermans, Kyriakides, and Wojciechowski. This new food strategy forms an important part of the Green Deal, which also involves different production methods in agriculture, including a significant reduction in the use of chemical pesticides.
The two committees approved a series of proposals to make food more sustainable, healthier, and more animal-friendly, and to increase local production. Among other measures, proposals to reduce livestock density in Europe, make fruit and vegetable consumption more attractive, and reduce pesticide use were supported by a majority.
There is also advocacy, among other things, for a food import ban from third countries that do not meet European standards. This is a frequently heard argument in agricultural circles against unfair competition conditions.
Reference is made, among others, to Argentine horse meat, of which the Netherlands imports 3 to 4 million kilograms annually, because meat from stolen and untagged horses is widely found entering the food chain through Argentine slaughterhouses — and into the Netherlands.
The two EP committees voted on Thursday on an initiative report by MEPs Anja Hazekamp (Netherlands, Party for the Animals) and the Christian Democrat Herbert Dorfmann (Italy, EPP). It contains their proposals for adjustments to the F2F strategy. In trilogue negotiations with the Commissioners and the 27 EU countries, a single package will be formed in the near future.