23 May 2019

PRESS RELEASE: EUROPEAN PRODUCERS MOBILISE TO DEFEND AND PROMOTE

THE EUROPEAN AGRICULTURE AND ITS PRODUCTION MODEL

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FruitVegetablesEUROPE (EUCOFEL) has met with like-minded European and national associations in the agricultural sector who are deeply concerned about the European Union’s trade policy on Thursday 23 May 2019, in Brussels.

The decision has been taken to create the “Alliance for the Defense of European Agriculture” (ADEA).

The Alliance is pro-European and calls upon the support of the new Members of the European Parliament to defend and promote European farmers and products, and ensure a level-playing field in trade agreements with third countries.

FruitVegetablesEUROPE’s President, Juan Marín, said: “The Alliance wants greater determination from the EU institutions to insist that all imports of agri-food products meet exactly the same standards imposed on European producers.”

In addition to these food-safety requirements, there needs to be more focus on the environmental and social sustainability criteria when negotiating trade agreements with third countries.

The Alliance collectively demands that:

- European agriculture is not undermined in trade agreements with third countries;

- Imported products respect the same production standards as those imposed on European producers, both in conventional and organic farming;

- European consumers have access to transparent information regarding the differences between EU production models and those of third countries;

- European consumers understand and support the social and cultural aspects of the EU farming.

The Alliance is open to all sectors willing to defend the EU agriculture.