Farmers balk at prospect of EU-Mercosur free trade deal

European farmers took to the streets of Brussels on Wednesday to demonstrate against a free trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur, mobilised by the European farmers' federation Coordination Européenne de la Via Campesina (ECVC) and the farmers' union FUGEA.

Negotiated since 1999 and due to be signed in 2019, this agreement between the EU and five Latin American countries - Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and, more recently, Bolivia - which has never been implemented, could be given the green light next week at the G20 summit being held on 18 and 19 November in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The demonstrators believe that its adoption would create unfair competition for European agriculture.

"The EU-Mercosur agreement is very unfavourable for Europe. It may be good for selling cars, but it will be very bad for agriculture," ECVC member Pierre Maison told Euronews, adding: "It's going to kill off small producers again, because it's going to drive prices down, and on top of that we're going to be importing beef, for example, that we produce at home."

The dairy farmer from Haute-Savoie (France), whose farm has been hit by cattle disease bluetongue this year, fears that the agreement will deal a fatal blow to many producers who are already struggling.

"We've had quite a difficult year in Europe. We've had a lot of vagaries of the weather and diseases affecting animals and livestock," he said.

Opponents of the agreement also fear social, health and environmental consequences, such as increased deforestation for livestock farming.

Manon Aubry, a French MEP for La Gauche (GUE/NGL), claimed the health consequences would be a folly. "30% of the pesticides authorised in the Mercosur countries are banned in the European