Cyprus MEP Yiorgos Georgiou (AKEL) has warned that the EU–MERCOSUR trade agreement will create severe unfair‑competition conditions and undermine both EU food‑safety standards and the survival of traditional Cypriot products. He also criticized the Republic for failing to secure protections for halloumi while other member states have already shielded their own goods.
Speaking ahead of a farmers’ protest planned for February 14, Georgiou said the agreement — despite still being under judicial review at the European Court of Justice — is expected to enter into force. He added that the European Left will continue its legal and political fight, and that if the case is won, the deal will have to be renegotiated under new terms.
“Other countries carried out the necessary checks and safeguarded their traditional products. Greece, for example, protected 21 of its traditional goods. Cyprus, however, failed to secure even halloumi,” Georgiou said.
He argued that MERCOSUR products are produced with pesticides banned in the EU and under significantly lower cost conditions, creating a distorted competitive environment for European farmers.
Michalis Litras, honorary president of the Pan‑Cyprian Farmers Union (PEK), described the agreement as “the tombstone of vulnerable agriculture.”
He said Cypriot farmers will march on February 14 from Eleftheria Square to the EU House — and possibly to the Presidential Palace — in protest.