The National Liberal Party (PNL) considers that the vote in the European Parliament regarding the referral of the EU-Mercosur Agreement to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) is contrary to Romanian interests, agriculture and industry in Romania and in the European Union.
The liberals say that, following this approach, the safeguard clauses for farmers, proposed and supported by the Romanian Delegation to the European People's Party (EPP), formed by the PNL and the UDMR, will no longer be able to be applied.
"Following Wednesday's vote in the European Parliament on referring the EU-Mercosur Agreement to the Court of Justice of the European Union, this agreement will be able to enter into provisional application, in interim form, according to the European legislation in force; the interim agreement, a technical framework for trade facilitation, falls within the powers of the European Commission (EC) and the exclusive competence of the European Union, with no individual ratification by the member states being necessary. Under these conditions, we consider that the vote in the European Parliament to refer the EU-Mercosur Agreement to the CJEU is one given against Romanian farmers and European industry, against the interests of EU citizens and their well-being, for isolationism", a PNL release sent on Wednesday reads.
According to PNL, "unfortunately, under the current conditions, the safeguard clauses for farmers requested by the European Commission (EC), proposed and supported by the Romanian Delegation to the EPP (PNL and UDMR), such as rapid and transparent measures to protect the agricultural market and real support for farmers, so that the competitiveness and future of European agriculture are not compromised, will no longer be able to be applied".
"Among the clauses that could have adequately protected Romanian and European farmers, we mention the possibility for any member state or agricultural producer to notify the EC in case of market disruption. Furthermore, all farms in the Mercosur area had to be licensed in accordance with European standards, so that sub-standard products could not access the European common market", PNL further specifies.
The liberals believe that the European Parliament should have set up a committee to monitor the agreement, ensured lower thresholds for rapid market intervention and stricter controls on imports, increased audits, and a zero-tolerance policy for pesticide residues.
They also point out that "another minus registered following today's vote in the Strasbourg plenary is the self-exclusion of the European Parliament from the legislative process until the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), a period that could last up to two years".
"In conclusion, the vote for the resolution to refer the EU-Mercosur Agreement to the CJEU suspended the process of implementing the safeguard clauses for farmers, which would have ensured the best trade conditions and protection, without precedent, for European farmers. The MEPs who voted in favor must assume this vote in front of the Romanians, because this vote leads to the entry into force of the Interim Trade Agreement without the essential safeguard clauses", the PNL also stated.
The European Parliament decided on Wednesday, in Strasbourg, to request the CJEU to assess whether the EU-Mercosur agreement is in compliance with the European Union treaties.
A total of 16 Romanian MEPs out of 33 voted in favor of referring the agreement with Mercosur to the EU Court of Justice, with no less than ten PSD members expressing their option in this regard.
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