Romanian farmers are demanding the postponement of the entry into force of the Mercosur agreement until it reaches a form accepted by professional agricultural organisations and until agriculture is treated as a strategic sector, not as a geopolitical bargaining chip.

A delegation of Romanian farmers, consisting of more than 200 participants, is taking part in a protest in Strasbourg on Wednesday to call for agricultural and trade policies applicable in practice, 'not decisions made on paper, lacking real control instruments', according to a press release of the Alliance for Agriculture and Cooperation (AAC).

'This is in line with the position expressed by Copa-Cogeca, which officially announced its support for the demonstration in Strasbourg on January 20 and called for a strong Common Agricultural Policy after 2027, fair and transparent trade, as well as real simplification and legal certainty for farmers. Together, we demand the exclusion of agriculture from the CBAM mechanism (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism - editor's note) and firmly reject the idea of a Single Fund, which would dilute support for agriculture. We call for the maintenance of the Common Agricultural Policy post-2027 with two pillars, a budget updated in line with inflation and real simplification of the CAP. Agriculture is not an industrial sector. Current policies transfer costs directly to farmers, affecting their competitiveness and endangering the food security of the European Union,' argue the AAC members.

Regarding the EU-Mercosur agreement, the AAC calls for the reopening of negotiations on the agricultural chapter, as the safeguard clauses, in their current form, do not work.

'The data necessary for monitoring quotas are missing, reporting is delayed, and responsibilities are fragmented across institutions. In the absence of real-time data, these clauses are inapplicable,' says to the press release.

The AAC calls for the introduction of a mandatory prior licensing system for agricultural products originating from Mercosur countries as a tool to control volumes, ensure traceability, and guarantee compliance. It also demands a ban on the resale of raw materials from third countries as EU-origin products, a practice that is currently possible through minimal processing, relabeling, or repackaging within a member state.

'Farmers are calling for clearer and more transparent labeling for consumers, insisting that product labels must visibly indicate the real origin and third country of origin, based on uniform rules and effective controls across the entire marketing chain. They argue that the EU's Unfair Trading Practices Directive (UTP) should be amended to explicitly cover products imported from third countries. According to farmers, this change is essential to prevent unfair competition caused by imports that do not meet the social and environmental standards imposed on European Union producers.

At the same time, they call for the creation of a real security, safety and control structure for agricultural imports, with institutional coordination and functional digital systems.

An analysis based on Access2Market and Eurostat data shows that, for sensitive products such as beef, no data were reported for the 2021-2024 period. Romania lacks quantitative reporting by product, while control responsibilities are fragmented among several authorities: Customs (Ministry of Finance), Commerce (Ministry of Economy), Agriculture (MADR), and the National Institute of Statistics (INS). INS data are published with a delay of at least one year and cover only trade values in euros, without product-level segmentation. This lack of detailed, timely data undermines the effectiveness of safeguard clauses.

The organisations are calling for the creation of a genuine security, safety, and control framework for agricultural imports, based on strong institutional coordination and functional digital systems. 'Free trade without data, without control, and without equal standards is not free trade, but disguised dumping,' they argue.

On Tuesday, more than 200 Romanian farmers are taking part in a protest in Strasbourg, alongside European organizations united under the Copa-Cogeca umbrella. The demonstrators are demanding agricultural and trade policies that are applicable in practice, not merely decisions adopted on paper. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Oana Tilica; EN - writing by: Cristina Zaharia)