Cabildo joins primary sector in rejecting EU-Mercosur agreement

The plenary of the Cabildo of Fuerteventura has approved an institutional declaration in defence of the island’s primary sector against the EU‑MERCOSUR trade agreement, which threatens its competitiveness.

The EU‑MERCOSUR agreement foresees the progressive removal of a large number of tariff and non‑tariff barriers between the two regions. Agricultural professional organisations and producers in the Canary Islands have repeatedly voiced their rejection of the current terms, arguing that the effects could be especially harmful to island farms, jeopardising rural employment and the maintenance of this activity.

“The island cabildos cannot remain indifferent to this situation and we raise our voice in defence of the interests of the Majorero and Canary countryside before the competent institutions.” – Lola García, President of the Cabildo

Livestock and agricultural production from MERCOSUR countries (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) represent direct competition for European and Canary productions. In the case of Fuerteventura, the president adds:

“The situation is especially worrying because of the fragility of the island’s primary sector, as well as the limitations derived from insularity and the ultra‑peripheral status of the region.”

This challenge is compounded by increasingly stringent regulations and rising production costs, which undermine the sector’s economic viability, create unfair competition, and place the continuity of the primary sector at serious risk, the declaration states.

Through this institutional declaration, the Cabildo urges the competent authorities to establish compensatory measures for agricultural and livestock holdings in the Canary Islands, and particularly in Fuerteventura, arising from the application of this and other preferential agreements. It also calls on the Spanish Government to request a specific impact assessment from European institutions on how the EU‑MERCOSUR agreement will affect the Ultra‑Peripheral Regions, including the Canary Islands, taking into account their unique structural and productive characteristics.