When the Most Affected Are Not in the Room: The Missed Opportunity of the EU-Mercosur Hearing

As the European Parliament's Committee on International Trade (INTA) holds its public hearing on the EU-Mercosur agreement, the absence of Europe’s most vulnerable and sensitive agricultural sectors will speak louder than many of the statements made in the room.

While the hearing features voices from export-oriented agri-food sectors and parts of civil society, farmers and producers from the EU’s sugar, beef, poultry, maize, eggs, and ethanol sectors are once again excluded from the conversation—despite being among those most directly and negatively affected by the agreement.

This selective framing of the hearing risks presenting a partial and misleading picture that disregards the real and pressing concerns of agricultural and food-producing communities across the EU.

This omission is not accidental. It reflects a wider and troubling trend—a deliberate reluctance to confront the uncomfortable truths and consequences of the current EU-Mercosur deal.

Here’s what you won’t hear in the room:

• Under the current terms, EU farmers and producers are expected to compete on an uneven playing field, facing imports produced under lower environmental, social, sanitary, and food safety standards, with no guarantee of reciprocity.
• European consumers are misled into believing that imported products meet the same high standards as EU-produced food. In reality, this is far from true.
• The agreement’s sustainability provisions remain vague and unenforceable, and the Commission’s proposed “compensation fund” does not replace strong, legally binding safeguard mechanisms.
• The market access concessions in the current deal pose an existential threat to EU producers of sugar, beef, poultry, and ethanol.

Supporters of the agreement may argue that the current geopolitical climate and the threat of U.S. tariffs make this deal urgent and essential.

While current trade tensions are indeed concerning, they are rapidly evolving, and we must not lose sight of the long-term implications of this agreement. In today’s urgent push for diversification and risk reduction, the strategic importance of agriculture—especially in times of crisis—must not be forgotten.

Once again, we reiterate our shared and longstanding concerns, voiced by our organizations for years: pushing forward with this agreement in its current form would severely undermine the EU’s commitments to food security, sustainability, and fair competition.

If the European Parliament truly seeks an open, serious, and balanced debate, it must ensure that all voices—especially those most impacted—are heard.

Today’s hearing is a missed opportunity. Yet we urge Members of the European Parliament to ask the hard questions and stand up for the principles of fair trade, reciprocal standards, and the protection of Europe’s most sensitive agricultural sectors.