Poland opposes the EU-Mercosur free trade deal with South American countries in its current form, the prime minister said on Tuesday, joining France in standing against an agreement European farmers say will expose them to unfair competition.
Farmers oppose the agreement between the European Union the Mercosur bloc that includes Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay objecting that it will allow large imports of products that are not bound by the same strict regulation they face in the EU.
"Poland does not accept, and we are not alone, we will not accept in this form the agreement with the countries of South America, that is the Mercosur group, on free trade," Prime Minister Donald Tusk said before the start of a government meeting.
France welcomed Poland's stance as it held a debate in parliament to try to placate French farmers who are staging a week-long protest against the deal.
"It's a wonderful signal that we too must help to send out," Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard said.
"We can no longer allow farmers to feel that they are nothing more than an international bargaining chip," she said.
French farmers brought dozens of tractors near the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
"Mercosur is very bad for agriculture, especially French agriculture. We will bring in products that cannot be produced here, so we will inevitably not be competitive with these countries," said Christian Adam, a farmer in eastern France.
France, the EU's largest agriculture producer, has been trying to convince other EU members to form a blocking minority against the deal.
The EU-Mercosur deal would allow the entry of an additional 99,000 tons of beef, 190,000 tons of sugar, 180,000 tons of poultry meat, and 1 million tons of maize, producers have said.
