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French farmers protest against the EU-Mercosur trade deal, which they fear would flood the bloc with cheaper agricultural goods, in the southern city of Millau on November 13, 2024. © Lionel Bonaventure, AFP
France has been seeking to form a blocking minority against the deal — an alliance that, under EU rules, would require at least four member states to succeed.
Poland’s deputy prime minister said Warsaw, which received a visit by the French agriculture minister on Friday, had already joined Paris in that effort.
“Diplomatic actions are under way to build a minority that will block” the agreement from entering into force, Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz told reporters.
“Our primary ally is France, but… we are counting on other countries too,” he added, saying the blocking minority “can be built, although of course it will not be easy.”
‘Ousted’ from EU market
Poland’s development minister said he would meet with his French counterpart next week to discuss the efforts to block the ratification of the Mercosur deal.
France’s agriculture minister Annie Genevard told the French parliament on Tuesday that Paris would “fully” and “resolutely” oppose the agreement with Mercosur “as the (European) Commission envisaged it”.
Earlier this month, the Polish agriculture ministry voiced “serious reservations” regarding the EU-Mercosur trade deal, warning that Polish and European producers could be “ousted from the EU market” if it is signed.
The ministry warned the deal may hurt Polish poultry and beef, sugar and ethanol producers the most.
The proposed trade pact sparked a new wave of farmers’ protests, mostly in France, where demonstrators staged dozens of rallies across the country.
Polish farmers on Saturday blocked the border with neighbouring Ukraine, listing the Mercosur deal among the principal reasons for the protest.
The protest was suspended following talks with the Polish agriculture minister at the border on Sunday.
(AFP)
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Publish date : 2024-11-26 17:55:00
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