The European field makes its voice loudly heard in the streets of Brussels this Thursday. More than 10,000 farmers and breeders of the 27 countries that make up the European Union, including around 500 Spaniards, joined a march that ended at Luxembourg Square in Brussels, where the European Parliament (EP) is located. The rejection of the proposed 22% reduction in funds from the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)as well as the opposition to the ratification of the trade agreement with Mercosur and the demand for a real simplification of the CAP in areas such as the use of fertilizers or phytosanitary products, permeate a historic call. The president of Asaja, Pedro Barato, was one of the voices of Spanish agriculture during this day of protest, alongside senior officials from COAG, Miguel Padilla, and UPA, Cristóbal Cano.: “If we have to go back to Brussels, we will go back. If we have to be in the capitals and the streets of our country, we will be there,” declared the first, opening the door to future mobilizations.
“We have come to say ‘enough'”
Barato was highly critical of European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen and her proposal to cut Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) funds: “It is the ruin of the European countryside and the Spanish countryside in particular. I think they are endangering food security and the CAP,” said the president of Asaja, who regrets that billions of “Next Generation” funds have been returned. The leader of this agricultural organization reiterated that “we came to say ‘enough’ to Mrs Von der Leyen (President of the European Commission) to bring order, because what she committed to in 2024 when we were in the streets. He accomplished nothing,” he denounced.
“If we have to return to Brussels, we will come back. If we have to be in the capitals and the streets of our country, we will be there”, Pedro Barato (Asaja)
The president of Asaja did not rule out that Spanish farmers would be forced to return to the roads and stressed that the Commission’s proposed budget reduction meant“the ruin and death of the agricultural sector, of all types of exploitation”. This contrasted with the good work of farmers and breeders in cases like the latest African Swine Fever (ASF) photo. “Things are going really well in terms of health,” he stressed.
Consequences on the basket
For his part, COAG Secretary General Miguel Padilla criticized the “snip” proposed by the Commission (which could be 32% if we take into account inflation, denounced by the sector). “This could mean a loss of 900 million euros per year “It’s nonsense, a total reconversion of what agriculture and livestock are,” declared the senior leader of COAG, who also criticized the disappearance of specific aid for rural development and the renationalization of the CAP. Which, according to him, will also have consequences on the shopping basket, making it more expensive. “in the best case 350 euros per year and more than 500 euros in the worst case.” The top leader of this organization also criticized the bureaucratic burden of the PAC: “We need several advisors to carry out our function, which produces food,” he quipped.
Rejection of Mercosur
The vice-president of the largest European agricultural organization, COPA COGECA, attacked the trade policy promoted by the European Commission and gave two examples: beet and the “hormonal meat” from countries like Brazil. Concerning the first, he recognized that European regulations prohibit the use of certain phytosanitary products authorized across the Atlantic, while concerning meat, he regrets that “Brazil recognized that it was not capable of controlling this issue”. Although he admitted that crops such as wine and olive oil could have an opportunity in this trade agreement, he recalled that “there is a transition period of 9 years for the first and 12 years for the second.” In other words, the reduction in prices will be gradual in both cases.
“It’s nonsense, a total reconversion of what agriculture and livestock are,” Miguel Padilla (COAG)
For his part, Padilla (COAG) criticized the “rush” of Spain and the European Commission to approve the trade agreement with Mercosur and criticized the fact that “the Spanish government does not think about the Spanish countryside”he pointed out. The COAG leader believes that “campaigning is once again the currency of European and Spanish politicians.” Padilla warned against the presence on supermarket shelves of products from countries like Argentina, Brazil or Paraguay, which have different production costs and regulations. “They do not have to meet the environmental requirements that we must meet here, nor labor costs, nor anything related to medicines or phytosanitary products that are banned here and allowed there,” Padilla assured. What you described as “a real injustice.” For this COAG leader, the choice is between “they give us steaks from Ávila and Asturias or from Argentina and Brazil”.
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