Sen. Gian Marco #Centinaio, Minister of Agricultural, Food, Forestry and Tourism Policies, commenting on the trade agreement reached yesterday after 20 years of negotiations between the European Union and the #Mercosur countries (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay) he has declared: "If the rumors about the agreement reached between the EU and the Mercosur countries were confirmed, as Minister of Agriculture I am absolutely not satisfied and I am deeply worried about the negative repercussions it could have if the openings to Mercosur towards our sensitive productions were confirmed. such as rice, on which it is not possible to accept continuous concessions, and poultry meat. We will oppose the maximum opposition in all the competent venues. Even now I can clearly say that we will not allow our farmers and our supply chains to be penalized. We are not against international trade agreements, but we are opposed to those that do not protect our productions that follow standards and quality paths that are very different from those of other non-EU countries. Moreover we are also very perplexed on the part concerning the possible offensive advantages for our exports of olive oil, pasta and cheese on which we will continue to ask for the widest guarantees, including the total recognition and protection of our PDO and PGI products. We will be vigilant immediately, it is good to open to the markets but first of all we need certain common rules that are respected by all".
