MAGAZINE - Copa-Cogeca

April 2012 │ 3
Copa-Cogeca Secretary-General
Pekka Pesonen
talks on EU Trade Policy
Negotiations are also continuing between the EU and India
for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Such an agreement would
benefit the EU dairy, poultry, cereals and oils sectors but we have
defensive interests on rice (in the EU we produce only 65% of
the rice we consume and we import around 1.3 million tonnes
of rice per year). The two sides have not however exchanged
offers on agriculture yet and an agreement was postponed in
February.
With little progress being made in the Doha round of World
Trade Negotiations, the EU Commission is pressing ahead with
negotiating bilateral trade liberalising agreements. But Copa-
Cogeca urges the EU to properly assess the socio-economic
impact of the deals . We were very disappointed about the
recently agreed trade liberalising deal between the EU and
Morocco, set to apply from May 1, as it will have a drastic effect
on the EU fruit and vegetables sector, particularly tomatoes.
A socio-economic impact assessment should have been carried
out first by the EU Commission, before going ahead with such
a deal. It will jeopardise thousands of jobs in EU rural areas
which have already been seriously affected by the economic
crisis. Imports from Morocco also do not have to meet the EU’s
high production standards which is a major concern for us.
This agreement will dramatically increase the positive trade
balance already in Morocco’s favour and have a disastrous
impact on employment in EU rural areas. I nevertheless
welcome the fact that European Parliament made some slight
improvements to the agreement, such as changes to the EU
system of controls and safeguards for imports from Morocco
which have proven to be ineffective in the past. I urge the EU
Commission to ensure that these controls and safeguards are
properly enforced, to prevent the market from being severely
disrupted. The Commission must also work on the entry price
system and manage the monthly quota properly.
Trade liberalising talks are also continuing between the EU and
Latin American Trade bloc Mercosur, which if agreed, would
have a severe impact on the EU agriculture sector, notably on
meat producers. Based on demands made by the Mercosur
countries in 2006, a study carried out by Copa-Cogeca reveals
that there would be losses to the EU agriculture sector of up to
13 billion euros. And this does not even look at the impact on
employment in EU rural areas where job losses are likely to be
huge given that the EU agri-food sector provides for 40 million
jobs in EU rural areas. Little progress has however been made
recently in the talks.
Negotiations were also launched between the EU and Canada
in 2009 and trade liberalisation for the majority of products
is foreseen, with an agreement expected at the earliest by the
end of the year. If a deal is reached, it would benefit the EU
wine and dairy sectors. Copa-Cogeca is also keen to launch an
ambitious FTA with Japan at the EU-Japan Summit at the end
of May.
You can find the Commissions response to some of our concerns
on trade policy in this magazine as well as read about our newly
agreed position on the Commissions’ proposals on the future of
the CAP. The future of EU rural development policy and of EU
promotion policy are also put under the spotlight. In addition,
our demands to maintain planting rights in the EU wine sector
are highlighted. We very much hope that you enjoy reading the
magazine and take on board our views.