Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Tuesday that Warsaw would not accept the draft free trade agreement between the European Union and the Mercosur countries as it stands, aligning himself with the position defended by France.
"Poland will not accept the free trade agreement with the countries of South America, i.e. the Mercosur bloc, in this form," Donald Tusk told the press before a cabinet meeting.
On Tuesday, his pro-EU government adopted a resolution opposing the current version of the agreement, citing as the main reason "concern for Polish farmers and food safety."
The contours of the European Union's agreement with Mercosur, made up of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, were set in 2019, but some EU countries, including France, are opposed to it, fearing that it will affect their agriculture sectors.
Earlier this month, the Polish Ministry of Agriculture had already expressed "serious reservations" about the EU-Mercosur agreement, warning that Polish and European producers could be "squeezed out of the EU market" if it were signed.
The ministry pointed out that the poultry, beef, sugar and ethanol sectors would be the hardest hit.
The agreement has also sparked a new wave of farm protests in Europe, particularly in France, where dozens of demonstrations have taken place across the country.
On Tuesday, the French Minister for Agriculture, Annie Genevard, reaffirmed in the National Assembly that France's government would "fully and resolutely" oppose the agreement with Mercosur "as envisaged by the (European) Commission."
