France is "actively" seeking allies to veto the Mercosur free trade agreement with the EU, which it considers harmful to its farmers, said the country's agriculture minister, Annie Genevard.
In an interview with France Info radio station, French Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard said that her country is trying to convince "as many countries as possible" such as Belgium, Bulgaria, Austria, Ireland and "perhaps Italy" to set up a veto against the agreement between the European Union (EU) and Mercosur.
Genevard stressed that French Prime Minister Michel Barnier, who is familiar with the internal workings of the EU as a former European Commissioner, is "working actively" and will discuss the issue in the coming days with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
The European Commission has indicated in recent weeks that it is moving towards the possibility of adopting this trade pact, which has been stalled since the agreement at the beginning of 2019.
The French minister complained that Von der Leyen wants to split it in two to avoid having to debate the national parliaments of the Twenty-Seven.
FRANCE AGAINST "TOTALLY UNFAIR COMPETITION"
Asked why France is "absolutely hostile", he said that it would trigger "totally unfair competition" that would clash head-on with "our own production" and with French and European environmental and social standards.
As an example, he said that 27% of phytosanitary products used in Mercosur countries are banned in the EU. He pointed out that if the agreement were to go ahead, 99,000 tonnes of beef, 100,000 tonnes of chicken and 100,000 tonnes of sugar would come from Mercosur.
Asked whether France is opposed to any agreement with Mercosur or to the one signed in 2019, which would have to be amended to accept it, the minister's response was "I don't know."
He added that in any case, negotiations "cannot be conducted in the form of financial compensation" for farmers, who really want to produce and compete "on equal terms."
