Romania has voted in favour of the European Union’s trade agreement with the Mercosur bloc, comprising Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, after additional safeguards for Romanian and European producers were negotiated, president Nicuşor Dan announced on January 9, according to Agerpres.

Dan said the agreement was supported after Romania, together with other EU member states, secured concessions aimed at protecting sensitive sectors, particularly agriculture. 

“For sensitive agricultural sectors, after successive discussions with European counterparts, we got a series of important concessions as against the initial form of the agreement,” the president said.

Under the agreement, customs duties will be eliminated for 91% of products imported from the European Union. Dan said Romania would benefit from expanded export opportunities in sectors such as transport equipment, especially automotive components, mechanical and electrical appliances, metal products, and textiles.

The president also said the deal would stimulate Romania’s exports of services to Mercosur countries and improve access to critical raw materials. He described this aspect as strategically important, as it would reduce dependence on other suppliers that could use such reliance as a tool of political pressure.

The decision has drawn sharp criticism from Romania’s Social Democratic Party (PSD), which accused the government of disregarding the interests of domestic farmers. In an official statement, the PSD said the move amounted to a “betrayal” of Romanian agriculture, noting that minister of agriculture Florin Barbu had repeatedly warned that signing the agreement without adequate guarantees would have a strong negative impact on the sector.

“It is outrageous that the USR ministers of foreign affairs and economy approved the memorandum on the EU-Mercosur Agreement, without even consulting Romanian farmers and without taking into account the objections formulated by the Ministry of Agriculture,” the PSD said, as quoted by Ziarul Financiar.

The party has asked prime minister Ilie Bolojan to clarify whether he was aware of, and approved, the mandate given to Romania’s representative in the EU’s Committee of Permanent Representatives in relation to the agreement.

The Social Democrats said they would use all available procedures at the European Parliament level to seek amendments to the EU-Mercosur Agreement in order to protect Romanian and European farmers. 

“We cannot have fair competition on the European market if we accept the import of products made without the constraints imposed on European farmers regarding food safety, environmental protection, animal welfare, and the pesticide use regime,” the party added.

iulian@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Inquam Photos/Alexandru Nechez)