Farmers and civic groups staged a protest on Saturday lunchtime outside the House of Europe in Nicosia, denouncing the European Union’s agreement with the Mercosur countries — Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay — and handing over a resolution addressed to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Organisers said they will also deliver the resolution to President Nikos Christodoulides and to all parliamentary parties.
In their text, they call for an immediate review of the EU’s stance and the adoption of binding protective measures. They warn that the agreement will have “serious consequences for the fundamental rights of citizens, especially the most vulnerable groups”. They argue that the slogan of a self-reliant Europe cannot become a reality if the EU increases its dependence on food imports from third countries.
They also claim the deal favours major European industrial powers that will export manufactured and technology products at the expense of small and medium-sized European family farms and livestock producers, as well as European consumers.
The resolution states that although some “safeguards” have been included for products with Protected Designation of Origin status, halloumi — the island’s main agricultural export and one of Cyprus’s top three export products — has not been included in the agreement.
Protesters argue that imported goods are not as safe as European products because they involve chemicals banned in Europe. They describe claims that consumers will benefit from reduced tariffs on agricultural and livestock products as “misleading” for Cypriots, saying intermediaries, supermarkets and trade monopolies will fully absorb the gains from scrapping tariffs.
A wide range of organisations co-signed the resolution, including farmers’ groups, trade unions, environmental organisations, consumer associations and youth movements.
During the protest, which was attended by Stefanos Stefanou, AKEL MEP Giorgos Georgiou, AKEL MPs and former Greens leader George Perdikis, farmers handed out plastic bags containing cucumbers, tomatoes, potatoes and aubergines, urging the EU–Mercosur agreement to be scrapped.
Addressing the gathering, Georgiou said: “We want free trade, but we also want democratically structured agreements.” He argued that the deal undermined the veto and ignored national parliaments, farmers, society, environmental organisations and even the vote of the European Parliament. He said the agreement is being referred to the European Court “to see whether it is compatible with European standards and treaties”.
He added that European Council President Antonio Costa had announced the deal would be applied provisionally, warning that “nothing is more permanent than the temporary”.
Georgiou summed up the agreement with the slogan “Cars for cows”, claiming that major German car manufacturers facing recent difficulties would benefit. He said products sprayed with pesticides banned in Europe for 50 years would enter the EU from Mercosur countries. He pledged to continue the fight to refer the agreement to the European Court, adding that only sustained mobilisation across European cities and countries could overturn what he called a “monstrosity” of an agreement.
Yiannakis Gavriel, AKEL MP and chair of the House Agriculture Committee, said the House plenary resolution against the Mercosur deal and the protest highlighted the need “to continue our struggles so we can have safe food on our table and strong food security”. He argued the agreement undermines food security and fair competition and serves “the interests of major German car manufacturers”, which is why, he said, there is a push for its interim application. He called on von der Leyen to heed public outcry and refrain from implementing the agreement until the European Court examines the European Parliament’s decision.
Christos Papapetrou, secretary general of the Pancyprian Farmers’ Union (PEK), expressed concern over what he described as the method used to push the agreement through. He said it was split into two parts, the veto was removed and it passed with a special majority because several countries were expected to react. He described it as an agreement designed to safeguard major economic interests at the expense of European consumers and farmers.
PEO secretary general Sotiroula Charalambous said: “We refuse to have decisions made about us without us.” She argued that Brussels once again put multinational interests above the health and interests of workers and society. She said PEO stood with Cypriot farmers because losing the primary sector would mean losing a key pillar of the economy, and urged joint resistance to what she called anti-democratic policies.
Takis Christodoulou, head of the New Agricultural Movement, said the agreement applies the doctrine attributed to former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger — “control energy and you control continents, control the economy and you control a country, control food and you control people” — and claimed multinationals would end up controlling Europeans’ diets. He questioned who would stop tree-cutting in the Amazon, which he said provides 37% of the planet’s oxygen, as agricultural land expands to serve 500 million additional consumers under the deal.
A representative of the Greens movement said they had opposed the agreement from the outset and had called on the Republic of Cyprus, which currently holds the EU presidency, not to proceed with signing it. Health, they said, must come before multinational interests, accusing the EU of compromising on environmental and health standards for trade reasons.
Lambros Achilleos, secretary general of Euroagrotikos, said Cyprus had aligned itself with major export-oriented industrial countries in Europe that tailored the agreement to their needs. He warned the island would be flooded with low-cost products of questionable quality, marking “the end of Cyprus’s agricultural economy”.
Tasos Yiapanis, secretary general of Panagrotikos, voiced concern for consumer health, particularly children’s health, and demanded EU protection against what he called unfair competition for Cypriot farmers. “We cannot sign an agreement that was made specifically for the agricultural sector when we were not part of the dialogue,” he said.
Panicos Hambas, secretary general of EKA, said they were defending those who built the Mediterranean diet and argued the government should have supported that inherited dietary tradition instead of siding with Germany and others. He called for the struggle to continue to secure a strong vote in the European Parliament.
A representative of the Cyprus Federation of Environmental Organisations said the federation’s coordinating committee had unanimously backed the protest because “the environment and human health stand above anyone’s profits and interests”. The agreement, they said, harms both health and the environment.
A POGO representative said she was conveying the anxiety of many women and female farmers, stressing concern over what reaches households and the need to keep people in rural areas to preserve jobs.
An EDON representative said the organisation was joining forces with the farming movement and wider society against the agreement, arguing that Mercosur represents not free trade but free exploitation that unites monopolies rather than farmers.
A NEDIK/Anagennisi representative said the agreement hides many dangers for the younger generation and insisted that free trade cannot operate at citizens’ expense.
A representative of the Environmental Movement of Cyprus said the struggle concerns all citizens, Cypriot and European alike, and accused Europe of breaching its own laws.
An ACCEPT LGBTI Cyprus representative said the human rights organisation stands with farmers, arguing they are being asked to enter an unequal battle with a predetermined outcome, and adding: “When we are united, we will not lose.”
A representative of the Friends of Akamas said they support the struggle and the environment and want products free from chemical contamination.
A representative of the Pancyprian Anti-Leukaemia Association said patients and the association fear the agreement will allow imports from countries that use pesticides and other substances harmful to public health.