Saxony's Agriculture Minister Georg-Ludwig von Breitenbuch has criticized the EU's plans to sign the controversial Mercosur agreement. "I understand the farmers' anger", the CDU politician told the "Leipziger Volkszeitung" and the "Sächsische Zeitung" against the backdrop of the farmers' protests announced for today on East German freeways and in front of the Frauenkirche in Dresden.
The agreement with the South American countries must be negotiated in such a way "that domestic agriculture does not come under the wheels". Breitenbuch is therefore calling for the same production standards to apply to South American imports under the planned agreement as for EU products.
Farmers are opposing the Mercosur trade agreement because they fear disproportionate competition from cheap imports from South America. The controversial agreement was due to be signed in December, but was postponed due to French pressure. The background to this was massive farmer protests in France.
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