Italy’s agriculture minister Monday, November 18, opposed a proposed EU-South America trade deal, saying farmers in the Mercosur bloc should have the same “obligations” on workers’ rights and the environment.
“The EU-Mercosur treaty in its current form is not acceptable,” Francesco Lollobrigida, a close ally of Italy’s far-right Prime Minister Georgia Meloni, said in a statement. “We must verify that Mercosur nations respect the same obligations we impose on our farmers in terms of workers’ rights and the environment,” he said.
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However, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, whose conservative Forza Italia party is also part of Meloni’s governing coalition, was more positive. “We are in favor in principle of making the agreement with Mercosur, I confirm it, but there are points that must be resolved because they are not fully satisfactory for Italy,” he told reporters in Brussels.
Italy’s main agriculture unions oppose the trade deal, fearing that South American imports would undermine farmers’ livelihoods across the European Union.
French farmers on Monday launched a new wave of action to protest the pact, as Paris leads resistance to EU ratification of the deal with the Mercosur bloc of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, which would create the world’s largest free-trade zone.
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Last month Tajani told CNN Brazil the negotiations were “very complex” but said it was “possible” to reach a deal “that is useful for both sides… I believe we have to move forward”.
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Publish date : 2024-11-18 08:35:00
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