The European Commission on Wednesday moved to ease farmers’ fears over the EU‑Mercosur free trade agreement by announcing cuts to import duties on a number of fertilisers and promoting legislation to allow the temporary suspension of the bloc’s carbon border levy. These concessions are aimed at persuading sceptical member states and agricultural lobbies ahead of a key vote scheduled for Friday.
A day earlier, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed allowing member states early access to around €45 bn of agricultural funding from the upcoming 2028‑34 EU budget to support farmers immediately, rather than waiting until later in the budget period. This is part of a wider effort to rally support for the pact from hesitant capitals.
A fertile offer
Some observers have noted that the EU’s offer of fertiliser duty cuts is the latest attempt to “dig up” support for the mega deal — a tangible, if slightly earthy, incentive to win farmers over.
If approved, the agreement — linking the EU with the South American Mercosur bloc — would be the largest free trade deal the EU has negotiated in terms of tariff reductions and market scope, covering a combined market of roughly 780 million people.
Mercurial on Mercosur
Despite this scale, the deal still lacks unanimous backing. Opposition remains strong in France, Poland and several smaller member states, mainly over concerns about cheap agricultural imports undercutting local producers.
Italy, which previously delayed approval in December, appears more open to backing the deal under qualified majority voting in the Council after the Commission’s latest proposals. France’s Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard, by contrast, was not convinced and, even as French farmers stage protests, stated that France would not support the pact.
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In their press conference following discussions on Wednesday, EU ministers underlined that farming and agriculture remained central to European self‑sufficiency and sovereignty and maintained that the concessions and safeguards already introduced showed that farmers’ interests have not been ignored in the bloc’s trade strategy.
