Kosiniak-Kamysz: halting the ratification process of the Mercosur agreement is a great victory for PSL and Poland

The process of ratifying the European Union’s agreement with the Mercosur countries is being halted by a decision of the European Parliament at the request of the Polish People’s Party (PSL), said on Wednesday the Deputy Prime Minister, head of the Ministry of National Defence and PSL leader Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz. He assessed that this is “a great victory for PSL and a great victory for Poland.”

On Wednesday, the European Parliament supported a motion to refer the trade agreement between the European Union and the Mercosur countries to the Court of Justice of the European Union in order to check the agreement’s compliance with EU treaties. This means that the vote on the ratification of the agreement in the European Parliament will likely be delayed by at least several months. The adopted motion was signed by MEPs from the Civic Coalition (KO) and PSL. A second motion, signed by the right wing in the European Parliament, including Law and Justice (PiS), was rejected. It was very similar to the first motion.

Kosiniak-Kamysz was asked about the matter during a press conference on Wednesday. He assessed that this is “a great victory for PSL and a great victory for Poland.” “I am very glad that we have blocked Mercosur. The process of ratifying the agreement with the Mercosur countries is being halted by a decision of the European Parliament at the request of PSL,” emphasized Kosiniak-Kamysz, thanking PSL MEPs for their involvement in the matter.

“We have won what others were only able to shout about,” he added, pointing to the motion submitted by the right wing that was rejected in the European Parliament. However, the PSL leader stated that the most important thing is that the adoption of the motion and its referral to the Court of Justice of the European Union blocks the ratification process of the agreement.

The Minister of Agriculture Stefan Krajewski (PSL), in turn, emphasized at a press conference in the Sejm on Wednesday that PSL, as it had announced, did not lay down its arms. “We were building a blocking minority (against the Mercosur agreement – PAP) and in fact, at the very last stretch, support from the Italians was lacking. It was Law and Justice that said their Italian friends would vote against the agreement, but they voted for this agreement,” the minister pointed out.

But – as he added – “we continue to work, because our role is to protect the interests of Polish farmers and Polish processors. Polish food is our brand, it is our pride and we will not change that,” emphasized Krajewski.

The agreement with the Mercosur states – Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay – introduces tariff preferences for certain agricultural products, including beef, poultry, dairy, sugar and ethanol. In return, the markets of these countries will open up to industrial goods from the European Union, such as cars, machinery and medicines.

The agreement was signed by representatives of both sides on Saturday in the Paraguayan capital, Asuncion. The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said that thanks to the agreement it was possible to create the largest free trade area in the world and a market worth almost 20 percent of global GDP.

Von der Leyen added that she wants to assure the 450 million inhabitants of the European Union that this agreement is “good for Europe – for every member state.” It means, among other things, more business opportunities, the removal of tariffs worth billions of euros, and the opening of public procurement markets, she stressed.

She also noted that the European Commission has listened to the concerns of EU farmers and has taken action. “This agreement contains solid safeguards aimed at protecting your livelihoods and our sensitive agricultural sectors. It creates significant economic opportunities for many agri-food exporters from the European Union. It protects 350 European geographical indications. That is more than in any other trade agreement of the European Union,” argued the head of the European Commission.

At the beginning of January, the majority of member states agreed to sign the agreement; Poland, France, Austria, Ireland and Hungary were against.

On Wednesday, a large farmers’ protest against the agreement was taking place in the vicinity of the European Parliament in Strasbourg. They fear that the agreement will threaten their incomes and production standards and lead to an influx of cheaper goods that do not meet European Union standards.

On Wednesday, 334 MEPs voted in favor of the motion to refer the agreement between the European Union and the Mercosur countries, 324 were against, and 10 abstained.