EU-CELAC Summit: why Emmaus International is fighting against the EU-MERCOSUR agreement
On 17th and 18th July, European heads of state and national representatives within the European Union (EU) and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) will meet in Brussels. It is very likely that trade issues will, once again, be the main points of discussion.
For years now, commercial trade liberalisation agreements have been flourishing, all of which aim to boost the trade of natural resources and goods between different regions and countries across the globe. Following the election of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as the president of Brazil, negotiations for an agreement between the European Union and the MERCOSUR nations (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay) has been a focal point of international discussion. We must fight against this – but why?
As it is currently planned, the EU-Mercosur agreement will facilitate the trade of Latin American agricultural goods (meat, soya, sugar, etc) in exchange for European cars, machinery, and chemicals (including pesticides which are banned in the EU). For years now, an entire section of civil society has been rallying to denounce the consequences of such a deal, on both economic and social levels.
A risk to the rights of the most vulnerable
In Brazil, it is feared that the agreement will lead to an increase in violations of poor and indigenous peoples’ rights, particularly in regions reliant on exportations and mining. The agreement will also promote an intensive agricultural production model, which would be detrimental to environmental protection efforts and local food security. Furthermore, there will be the risk of higher deforestation, which will in turn force indigenous populations out of their homes as cultivation zones are extended in order to meet exportation quotas.
Equally, European agricultural workers will face unfair competition from these cheaper agricultural products – products which are cheaper because they do not comply with the same health standards imposed by the European Union.
Environmental risks
It is in nobody’s interest to accept a trade agreement of this nature, because such an agreement will undoubtedly lead to a significant increase in global greenhouse gas emissions. Continuing down the path of globalisation, which promotes the interests of multinationals to the detriment of the protection of our planet, social rights and the rights of entire populations is, quite simply, no longer an option.
In the name of our struggles for an ethical and fair economy and for social and environmental justice, Emmaus International stands fiercely against these trade liberalisation agreements that are being signed behind closed doors. They will have significant negative long-term impacts on populations that are already vulnerable, and furthermore, they embody an economic and agricultural model that, when it comes to the social and climate issues currently being faced, are vehemently outdated.
Over 170 organisations on both sides of the Atlantic have called for this agreement to be scrapped, and for relations, whether political, commercial or geopolitical, to be built on new principles.
Photo : CC/FLICKR/Amazônia Real
