Claudiu-Richard Târziu, Member of the European Parliament for the ECR Group, has voiced strong opposition to the EU–Mercosur trade agreement following alarming information contained in a recent report on practices in Brazil’s beef industry. The report’s findings point to a major gap between the standards imposed on European farmers and those applied in Mercosur countries, undermining EU food safety and fair competition.
“The EU–Mercosur agreement, as proposed, throws open the gates of the European Union to agri-food products that do not meet our standards. Romanian farmers work under strict, costly and closely monitored rules. Brazil, by contrast, allows the sale of powerful antibiotics without prescription, lacks genuine nationwide traceability, and provides no credible guarantees regarding the quality and safety of products exported to the EU. We cannot accept unfair competition that sacrifices both public health and European agriculture,” Claudiu Târziu stated.
Alarming findings of the report
-
Injectable antibiotics, including critically important antimicrobials (HPCIAs), can be purchased freely in Brazil, without prescription, without buyer registration and without effective oversight by authorities.
-
There is no functional national traceability system for the approximately 238 million cattle, making genuine certification of the origin and safety of meat exported to the EU impossible.
-
Detachable ear tags are sold freely, and many animals circulate without identification—practices that are inconceivable within the EU.
These findings directly contradict European Commission statements regarding the “equivalence” of production standards and strike at the core of the EU’s strategy against antimicrobial resistance.
Impact on Romania
“Romania would be among the most affected countries. Our farmers, already under pressure from cheap imports and increasingly strict rules, would be forced to compete with products originating from systems without traceability, without controls and without adequate sanitary standards. This is a direct blow to food safety and the rural economy,” Târziu emphasized.
What MEP Claudiu Târziu is calling for
-
The complete suspension of concessions on beef and poultry provided for in the EU–Mercosur agreement until Brazil demonstrates the implementation of a national traceability system equivalent to the European one.
-
The introduction of real and verifiable controls on veterinary antibiotics in Mercosur countries, including mandatory prescriptions for critically important antimicrobials.
-
An urgent, on-site audit by DG SANTE focusing on antibiotic use, traceability and antimicrobial resistance risks, prior to any progress in the ratification process.
“We cannot accept double standards. Europe must not become a dumping ground for cheap, uncontrolled products while our own farmers are suffocated by regulation. The EU–Mercosur agreement, in its current form, protects neither consumers nor farmers, nor Romania’s interests. I will firmly oppose its ratification,” Claudiu Târziu concluded.
