The European Parliament adopted at the Plenary Session held in Strasbourg on 8 March 2011 a resolution which asks the Commission to crease discriminating EU agricultural sector when negotiating international trade agreements. MEPs highlight that the European Commission must stop making concessions which can adversely affect European farmers, and warn of the effects of the trade talks with Mercosur and criticise the recent agreement with Morocco.

In the Resolution on Agriculture and International trade adopted in Plenary Session held in Strasbourg on 8 March, MEPs consider that decisions to further open up EU market to imports of agricultural goods should not be taken without ensuring that EU farmers can be compensated for their losses. They stress that external trade policy must not jeopardise the EU’s ability to maintain a strong agricultural sector and to ensure food security against a background of increased market volatility.

Parliament's resolution condemns Commission’s approach, which far too often makes concessions on agriculture in order to obtain enhanced market access in third countries for industrial products and services. In this regard, MEPs consider that an "extremely generous offer" on agriculture was made by the EU in the framework of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) but was not reciprocated by equivalent concessions.

The Parliament also criticises the Commission for resuming negotiations with Mercosur without discussing the matter with Council, and calls on the Commission to protect farmers' interests and put forward an impact assessment on the effect of such an agreement, to be debated, before the talks are finalised.

MEPs also express their strong concern about the EU-Morocco agreement, given that while European markets have opened up almost completely to imports from Morocco, some agricultural products are still subject to quotas on exports from the EU. They have also called on the Commission to make the relevant changes in the complex system of entry prices that applies to tomato imports from Morocco to avoid the problems it is causing.

Impact assessments of International trade agreements to assess consequences on EU agriculture

European Parliament's resolution stresses that, in relation to the agricultural sector, the Commission should conduct impact assessments and make them public before launching negotiations. These assessments would be updated in order to take account of new positions arising in the negotiations. In this regard, the Parliament recalls that a domestic advisory council was included in the Free Trade Agreement between the EU and South Korea and notes that this could be a precedent for the involvement of interested parties and stakeholders in future trade agreements. It also emphasises the need for a proper and transparent process for consulting all interested parties, particularly in Parliament and the Commission.