Minister Czesław Siekierski stressed unanimously that Poland did not accept the agreement between the European Union and the Mercosur countries in its current form initialled on 6 December 2024.

– We cannot sacrifice agriculture for the benefits of other sectors. Concessions for the Mercosur Group countries in access to the EU agricultural market cannot be a “price” for concessions obtained by the Union in access to other sectors of the Mercosur countries’ markets – stressed the Polish Minister of Agriculture.

Major reservations

Poland’s reservations as to the EU-Mercosur agreement relate mainly to:

- excessively high tariff quotas in the import of, among others, poultry and beef for the Mercosur countries;

- liberalisation of import of unprocessed tobacco;

- absence of protection mechanisms adequate to the specific nature of the agricultural sector;

- absence of satisfactory solutions in the field of aligning production standards applicable in the EU and in the Mercosur countries.

– From the beginning, we have been stressing that the safeguard clause should not only take into account the specific nature of the agricultural sector, but also apply to all agricultural goods – covered by tariff quotas and others. Moreover, all additional solutions or new complements must be legally binding on both parties. We also have doubt as to the European Commission’s (EC) unofficial announcements on the creation of a fund for the purpose of compensating for potential losses of the agricultural sector under the EU-Mercosur agreement. In our opinion, it should take into account both direct and indirect effects borne by farmers – first of all, the consequences in the form of displacement of Polish agricultural goods from the EU market – highlighted Minister Siekierski.

Let us remind that in January 2025, at the AGRIFISH meeting, Poland reported the need for the EC to draw up an analysis of all preferences granted to third countries in access to the agricultural market of the European Union.

The Minister also stressed that Poland greatly appreciated France’s support provided so far in protecting the European agricultural market and hoped to continue that fruitful cooperation, also as regards the EC negotiations with Ukraine on deepening liberalisation under Article 29 of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement.

The future of the CAP – evolution, not revolution

Currently, the EU is at an extremely important historical moment when it makes decisions on the future shape of the Common Agricultural Policy. Minister Siekierski stressed that it had to be a strong policy with a two-pillar structure and a separate budget.

– At the last meeting of the AGRIFISH Council during the Polish Presidency, the Ministers of Agriculture voted for maintaining the CAP with a separate budget allocated for agriculture. This shape of the future CAP will allow to respond appropriately to emerging challenges. Please remember that we all make use of the Common Agricultural Policy – both farmers and consumers, who thanks to it have universal access to good quality food. Only a strong and sustainable Common Agricultural Policy will ensure the competitiveness of European agriculture, and food security for Europe and Europeans – said Minister Czesław Siekierski.