Copa and Cogeca, the twin apexes representing European farmers and their co-ops, warn the European Commission’s decision to make the provisional application to apply the EU-Mercosur Free Trade Agreement is a “further blow” to farmers.
The apexes say the decision comes “despite increasingly worrying recent developments,” which show “a disregard for the well-founded concerns we have been raising for years alongside environmental organisations, labour unions, and consumer groups regarding the impacts of this agreement”.
High among these concerns for Copa and Cogeca are increased import volumes, “which put pressure especially on sensitive sectors such as beef, poultry, and sugar”.
But the apexes are also worried about the deal leading to “persistent asymmetries in production standards, environmental requirements, animal welfare rules, use of plant protection products, and labour standards, on which the EU has obtained no guarantees capable of truly reassuring producers and consumers”.
They point to a recent report from the European Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety on beef and the continued use of hormones, which only reinforces these concerns for both producers and consumers”.
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“It is therefore deeply troubling,” Copa and Cogeca add, “that the agreement is being pushed through under provisional application, not only disregarding the farming community’s concerns, but also contradicting repeated assurances by the Commission that such a far-reaching and controversial trade agreement would not be implemented without comprehensive Parliamentary consent, especially following the recent ECJ referral vote.
“Trade policy must not come at the expense of Europe’s agricultural model. The farming sector is already under significant economic pressure due to rising input costs, climate challenges, and market volatility. Proceeding in this manner will leave a lasting political mark and risks further undermining trust between European institutions and rural communities.”
The apexes have also joined other agri organisations in warning of a threat to European rice farming “driven by rising production costs, strict regulatory requirements and a significant increase in imports entering the EU market”.
Wool sector
And they have published a position paper calling for support for the wool industry. They warn that wool is “increasingly treated as a burden, despite clear opportunities for its use”, and urge policymakers to remove regulatory barriers that currently prevent wool from being fully exploited as a “sustainable, circular, and renewable agricultural resource”.
“Although wool is renewable and biodegradable, EU farmers and co-operatives face significant legal and administrative obstacles,” they add. “Under EU legislation, raw wool from healthy animals is classified in a way that imposes disproportionate constraints on its handling, marketing, and use.
“As a result, the European wool value chain has weakened considerably. Prices have collapsed, often failing to cover even basic shearing costs. Limited EU processing capacity and the closure of key export markets have exacerbated the situation, leading to stockpiling on farms and widespread disposal of wool as waste. This is economically unsustainable and environmentally inconsistent, especially in light of the EU Bioeconomy Strategy and Circular Economy objectives.
“Copa and Cogeca’s recommendations aim to unlock wool’s untapped potential by encouraging its marketing and valorisation, revising its legal classification, promoting on-farm uses, and supporting innovation. These measures would transform wool from a liability into a valuable co-product, contributing to circularity, soil health, and farm sustainability.“
Fertiliser fears
The apexes have also sounded the alarm over the latest figures from the European Commission which “confirm a dramatic and unprecedented collapse in EU nitrogen fertiliser imports following the entry into force of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)”.
In January 2026, the EU imported only 179,877 tonnes of nitrogen fertilisers, compared with 1,183,728 tonnes in January 2025. Imports have therefore fallen to less than 16% of their usual level, “a harsh reality that is now knocking at the EU’s door”, say Copa Cogeca.
“These figures validate the repeated warnings from Copa and Cogeca over recent years. Farmers and agri co-operatives organisations have consistently cautioned EU institutions that, without the necessary technical safeguards and market preparedness, the implementation of CBAM on fertilisers would disrupt supply flows and increase costs for European farmers.”
