The Spanish government has defended the agreement between the European Union and Mercosur on agriculture and livestock, unlike other countries such as France or Germany. This has provoked the anger of Spanish farmers, who are not ruling out protest action.
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00:00Following the French farmers' protests against the agreement between the EU and Mercosur,
00:06alarm bells are ringing in Spain as well. As the Spanish government supports the deal,
00:11the agricultural sector aims to bring its opposition to the agreement to the attention
00:15of politicians.
00:16We totally reject the position of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Spanish government
00:23when it comes to the impacts it has on livestock and agriculture in the Spanish state. Very
00:29negative. They are going to promote more industrial models of agriculture, which also clash and
00:36have a total and absolute contradiction with the objectives of the Green Pact and the strategy
00:43of the farm to the table.
00:45Farmers want the Spanish government to acknowledge their demands.
00:48The Ministry of Agriculture has never convened a specific meeting with the agricultural sector
00:55to talk about Mercosur.
00:56Despite the many criticisms of the Spanish farmers against the agreement between the EU
01:01and Mercosur, the Minister of Agriculture, Luis Planas, defends it. He assures that there is a lot of
01:06mythology, as he has described it, in the opinions contrary to the agreement and that do not fit
01:11with reality.
01:12In addition, he leaves the following question in the air. Listen.
01:16I think there is a certain mythology around Mercosur that I don't think fits
01:23neither with the reality of the Mercosur agreement nor with the moment we are living in.
01:29Is the EU interested in closing on itself right now or is it interested in expanding the network
01:38of our trade agreements with third countries to maintain our economic and commercial influence?
01:46Farmers are responding. They have a message for the Minister of Agriculture.
01:52The Minister is the Minister and the farmers are the ones who are suffering these consequences.
01:56If the Minister were a farmer or the farmers were ministers, I can imagine that he would be
02:01with his French and German counterparts against this trade that is going to be closed.
02:06They are demanding that we comply with some things that are becoming more and more difficult,
02:10that our products are becoming more scarce, and that they are leading to the abandonment
02:14of both agriculture and European livestock.
02:16On the contrary, in these countries where these raw materials are expected to be brought,
02:20all these rules that do not exist, it is easier to produce and manage.
02:25It is also inconceivable that Europe, which is created for the protection of member countries,
02:29is letting us work at a disadvantage with a disloyal competition with third countries.
02:34Spanish farmers are coordinating amongst themselves and do not rule out holding protests.