Agriculture Minister Norbert Toschnig (ÖVP) has confirmed that Austria is saying no to the trade pact between the EU and the South American Mercosur countries. He justified this on the grounds that the imports would not meet the standards of the EU’s internal market. “From our point of view, this is not going to end well.”
Food production in Europe follows strict rules, Totschnig said in Brussels on Monday. The Mercosur trade agreement covers Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. A 2019 parliamentary resolution actually obliges the federal government to take a negative stance, but the EU commission is pushing for the pact.
According to Totschnig, the agreement mainly concerns beef and poultry, sugar and bioethanol. Therefore, an EU-wide “uniform, transparent designation of origin” is necessary. The consumer could then decide for himself. “Unfortunately, the Union is here late,” the minister said on Monday.
The EU commission should “focus on agricultural production and a functioning internal market.” In times of ongoing crisis, it is important to strengthen food supplies and reduce dependence on imports.
EU allies falter
Food production in Europe follows strict rules, “at the same time we are opening the EU’s internal market to imports that do not meet these standards. As far as we are concerned, that will not end well,” said the Minister of Agriculture in Brussels. Austria lose its allies like France and Ireland.
In Austria, for example, the Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of Industrialists (IV) are supporters of the Mercosur agreement. In a broadcast, the IV said farmers’ concerns were unfounded, as “the high Austrian and European standards in the environmental, social and food sectors remain unaffected and fully preserved.” More than a third of the people in this country already produced goods and services are sold to foreign countries, every fourth tax dollar depends on the export economy.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
