When nearly 10,000 farmers from across Europe gathered in Brussels on December 18, 2025, their message rang loud and clear: they want nothing to do with the proposed EU-Mercosur trade agreement. About 4,000 French farmers joined 6,000 others from neighboring countries near the Europa building, where EU leaders were meeting to discuss this controversial deal.
Nearly 10,000 European farmers united in Brussels to reject the controversial EU-Mercosur trade agreement affecting their livelihoods.
The farmers aren’t just being difficult for no reason. They have genuine concerns about what this agreement would mean for their livelihoods. The trade pact would eliminate tariffs on almost all goods traded between the EU and five Mercosur nations over 15 years. That might sound like good news for consumers, but farmers see it differently.
Take poultry farming, for example. Under the new deal, imports would jump by 180,000 metric tons at lower tariff rates. European farmers worry they can’t compete with cheaper imports that don’t follow the same strict rules they must follow. As one farmer put it simply: “We have a lot of rules to respect and they are not respecting.”
The rules matter more than you might think. Brazilian poultry producers use growth-promoting antibiotics that European farmers cannot use. French farmers also point to pesticide regulations and environmental standards that make their production more expensive but safer for consumers.
Several governments are listening to these concerns. French President Emmanuel Macron wants more negotiations before signing anything. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called the current agreement “premature.” Poland, Belgium, Austria, and Ireland have joined this opposition movement. The deal would create a massive 780 million people market spanning across continents. The European Commission has postponed signing the agreement by about one month, pushing the timeline to January. Like any major economic decision, farmers should conduct personal research to understand how trade agreements might affect their specific situations.
What makes this protest especially powerful is how unified the farmers have become. Different farming groups that don’t always agree on everything have come together with one voice. The FNSEA and Jeunes Agriculteurs unions organized massive demonstrations across multiple countries.
The farmers don’t trust the proposed safeguard clauses designed to protect them. They want real guarantees that imported products will meet the same standards they follow every day. Until then, they’ll keep making their voices heard in Brussels and beyond.
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