The Polish government has filed a complaint with the Court of Justice of the European Union against the trade agreement with the countries of the South American Common Market (MERCOSUR), Polskie Radio reported.
According to the media outlet, Warsaw, together with the complaint, filed a request to suspend the agreement until the court rules on the case of the Polish authorities. It is noted that Poland is primarily dissatisfied with the lack of “mirror requirements“ in the agreement for agricultural producers from MERCOSUR countries regarding the quality and production technology of their products.
On January 7, a free trade agreement between the European Union and the MERCOSUR countries was signed in Paraguay. It entered into force on May 1. The agreement was supported mainly by Germany and the Scandinavian countries, who are interested in reducing tariffs on automotive, chemical and pharmaceutical products sent from the EU to South America.
At the same time, Austria, Hungary, Ireland, Poland and France oppose the agreement, as they do not want cheap agricultural products from South America to freely enter the European market. On 21 January, MEPs adopted a resolution in support of an appeal to the Court of Justice of the European Union to determine the compatibility of the free trade agreement with MERCOSUR with EU standards.
MERCOSUR is a trade and economic bloc founded by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. The combined territory of these countries represents more than 70% of the area of South America, with a population approaching 300 million. Trade between the EU and MERCOSUR exceeds €112 billion, with mutual imports and exports balanced between the two blocs.