How von der Leyen sold out European farmers

The EU-Mercosur free trade agreement just signed by von der Leyen will deal a serious blow to Europe’s farmers and its long-term food security

I’ve written for UnHerd about the EU-Mercosur free trade agreement just signed by von der Leyen — and why it will deal a serious blow to Europe’s farmers and its long-term food security:

From the European Commission’s perspective, the fact that the Mercosur deal will harm European agricultural producers by increasing cheaper imports is an acceptable trade-off in view of the fact that it will boost European industrial exports, such as cars. This is also why Germany is among the main supporters of the deal. In other words, agricultural production is being treated as a bargaining chip — a sector worth forfeiting in exchange for gaining access to new markets.

But there is a fundamental problem with this logic. Agriculture may not be “worth” much, but it does provide the most important product in any society: food, the building block of life. It makes little sense to sacrifice Europe’s long-term food security and sovereignty for short-term economic gains. Indeed, the whole “reshoring” debate stems precisely from a heightened awareness of the need to avoid dangerous dependencies for critical goods and materials. But if this applies to microchips, surely it applies — even more so — to food? This Mercosur deal is, ultimately, another reminder that entrusting critical decisions to unaccountable supranational institutions prone to capture by powerful vested interests isn’t just bad for democracy — but also for the long-term sovereignty of Europe as a whole.

Read the article here. If you’re a paid subscriber and you can’t access the paywall write to me at thomasfazi82@gmail.com.

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Thomas Fazi

Website: thomasfazi.net

Twitter: @battleforeurope

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