Italy's Agriculture Minister spoke out on Monday against the draft free trade agreement between the European Union and the South American Common Market, Mercosur.
Francesco Lollobrigida demanded that Mercosur farmers be subject to the same ‘obligations’ as their EU peers. "The EU-Mercosur treaty in its current form is not acceptable," the Italian Agriculture Minister said in a press release.
"We need to check upstream that the Mercosur countries are complying with the same obligations that we impose on our farmers in terms of respect for workers' rights and the environment," said Lollobrigida, who is a member of Fratelli d'Italia, the far-right party led by Giorgia Meloni, to whom he is close.
"Geopolitical crises have already dramatically weakened our primary sector, which could hardly withstand the impact of imports with lower production costs and prices," he added.
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, leader of the conservative Forza Italia party, a member of the ruling coalition, was more open to the idea.
However, organisations representing the peninsula's agriculture sector have spoken out against the plan.
In October, Coldiretti, the main association representing the agricultural world, sent Giorgia Meloni a letter expressing the sector's ‘deep concern’ about the project. Coldiretti pointed out that "in the Mercosur zone, the rules on the use of pesticides and production techniques are much less stringent than in the EU."
"We believe that close collaboration with other EU Member States, such as France, which share our concerns, can prevent the agreement from being adopted in its current form," the association concluded.
France is seeking to form a blocking minority in the EU Council. Belgium, for its part, is abstaining.
Mercosur is a free trade area comprising five full members: Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay.
The bloc also has 7 associated states, including Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru and Suriname. The seventh associated state, Venezuela, has been suspended.