The European Left will continue the fight against the EU-Mercosur agreement which will have implications for food quality and safety but will also affect the preservation of traditional Cypriot products, which find it difficult to compete with lower-cost mass-produced goods, said MEP George Georgiou, at a press conference on Friday at the EU House in Nicosia.
At the same time, the honorary president of EKA, Michalis Lytras, announced new farmers' mobilizations on Saturday, February 14, with a march from Eleftherias Square to the EU House and probably the Presidential Palace, describing the agreement as a "tombstone for the agricultural sector."
The MEP in his own statements said that the European Left and AKEL are not nihilists or Eurosceptics, they recognize the benefits of subsidies, but they envision a different Europe that takes into account its citizens, young people, health security and the environment. "The negatives in many areas are so many that we say we will not accept it," he stressed.
He said that next week in Strasbourg they will resubmit their amendments even though they know their fate and called on the President of the Republic, now that Cyprus holds the presidency of the EU, to seek alliances with other affected countries so that in the negotiations for the EU's long-term budget he can secure commitments for farmers.
He clarified that they do not expect there to be room for major changes in the agreement, but stressed that they will fight and struggle to heal wounds.
Responding to a question, he stated that the European Court of Justice's decision on the violation of EU law will be issued within 18-24 months, but the agreement will be implemented now, speaking of institutional deviation and faits accomplis that are difficult to overturn.
In the event of vindicating the case, he said, then the entire agreement is overturned and new terms are needed, however, he did not seem optimistic about this.
Mr. Georgiou also emphasized that in other countries, impact studies were conducted and traditional products were safeguarded, such as in Greece, which safeguarded 21 such products, while Cyprus failed to even safeguard halloumi.
He also stressed that imported Mercosur products are often produced using pesticides that are banned in the EU, at low cost, in areas with abundant water and agricultural land, and that cannot compete with European and Cypriot products.
"We say no to a trade that baptizes environmental destruction and deregulation as 'development'. We say no to a system that imports poverty and exports injustice. We do not accept an agreement that measures profits in tons, but ignores the cost to our health and the future of our children, which leads our farmers to extinction, in order to fill some lists with cheap products," stressed the AKEL MEP.
He also wondered which portion of citizens in Cyprus has the financial means to purchase expensive and quality products and what will happen when we turn to cheap but dubious quality products from Mercosur at a cost to public health.
Christina Nikolaou, Head of the Environment Office of the AKEL Central Committee, said that the agreement violates, among other things, many environmental goals set by the EU itself for deforestation, pollutants, etc. and undermines the Green Deal, describing this fact as paradoxical.
Representatives of the Consumers' Association, the Laona Foundation and beekeepers who attended the press conference expressed their concerns about the agreement.
Source: KYPE
