mr president i think many were taken by surprise at the recent decision by the commission to reopen the negotiations with mercosur on a free trade agreement
as we enter into a period where we will see reform of the cap and we have just been debating that everyone knows that agriculture will be a major part of that agreement
while i accept that the commission services are within their rights to reopen discussions they would have been much better advised to inform parliament of their intentions
this issue has the possibility to open pandora's box in many sectors of europe's agriculture industry and i therefore seriously question the wisdom of embarking upon any future deal
there are serious ongoing problems in brazil and argentina with regard to animal traceability and other health and safety issues
the most recent report by the fao mission in the state of santa catarina concluded that there were very few controls on cattle passing from argentina to brazil or indeed between the different states in brazil
by the same token ear-tagging rules were not enforced
these are only some examples of the many i could list from the fao report last october
i must tell the commissioner very straightforwardly that if he persists down this route he will be opposed every step of the way
i can to some extent understand why this may seem like an attractive option as wto discussions do not progress with any speed but i really do believe that this has the potential to destroy the wto
if mercosur succeeds in achieving a deal with the eu why should these countries continue to participate in wto negotiations
you must understand that there will be no reduction in the level of standards of animal health welfare or traceability
consumers and producers in the european union must be protected and i do not think that a trade deal with mercosur will achieve this
indeed it will have entirely the opposite effect
