The governments of France and Italy have jointly asked the agreement between European Union and Mercosur to be “more balanced” to effectively protect the agricultural sector and ensure that European sanitary rules are respected.
The two countries agreed with this position during a visit by French Minister Delegate to Europe, Benjamin Haddad, to Italy’s European Affairs Minister Tommaso Poti in Rome on June 18, according to a statement issued by Haddad’s team on Friday.
The message emphasizes that both France and Italy support fair and reciprocal free trade and sustainable trade agreements, as they are an essential growth engine and a gateway to new markets for national companies.
“However, Italy and France consider that while containing advantages, the EU agreement does not sufficiently protect European farmers against market disturbance risks and does not sustainably guarantee the continent’s food sovereignty,” the sources said.
This is why these countries reaffirmed the need to include clauses to ensure equity in health, environmental and social standards, so that there is a balance between producers on both sides of the Atlantic.
