Compromise calls for legal consistency in trade in agricultural products from third countries

CASTELLO. Spokesperson for Compromís, Carlos Muletannounced that the Valencia party has registered a motion in the Senate to demand regulatory consistency and criteria when it comes to marketing agricultural produce from third countries in the Spanish State. The proposal calls for more decisive involvement of the Government to lead the claim to reduce the chemical pesticides in agricultural products that we can find in our country, something that will improve biodiversity and the environment by reducing persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic substances present. aligned with the strategy From Farm to Table.

“Unfortunately, these good intentions conflict with the permissiveness of phytosanitary products that undermine the pollinator population and with some European products imported from outside the European Union that compete inferiorly with products that do not follow the same criteria; prevention of the presence of chemicals in health, food and phytosanitary”, Top Explains the representative of the Valencian coalition in the Parliamentary Agriculture Commission.

Compromís’ ambitious initiative drew on the collaboration of agricultural organizations such as La Unió and Ministry of Agriculture technicians to provide the response needed by the affected economic sectors and to “awaken broad consensus”. According to Mulet, “there is a consensus that elements of fairness must be included in import rules to prevent pests, unauthorized residues from getting to our farmers and to respect the planet. That is: sustainability and food security.”

The Compromís spokesperson recalled how various initiatives were discussed in the current and previous legislatures, whether or not they were approved, referring to the problems faced by farmers and citrus production due to the insensitivity of central and European governments to citrus production. It can be concluded that due to crop loss, jobs-destroying initiatives, collateral effects of agreements, their content and requirements for the protection of populations and phytosanitary are poorly or very poorly negotiated. The EU said, for example, the agreement signed with the South African countries that “destroys a sector and allows European markets and European consumers to be poisoned with fruit that unfairly competes with fruit produced in our State with all health guarantees and respect for the environment”.

family models

In all aspects of sustainability, Mulet assessed the opportunity costs of “ignoring the European multifunctional agri-food sector model and family farm models and leaving them to the fate of the markets” as “very serious”. support is a key element for the economies and society of the European Union, so it is necessary to promote fairer and more local supply chains as well as good agricultural practices.

Among many other aspects, the proposal calls for ensuring the equal protection of health, the environment, plant health and competition with the EU “especially during the six-month EU presidency in 2023”. This covers cold treatments for pest control, strengthening border control of pathogens and compensating for CAP and the additional costs and new requirements that manufacturers face in the coming years.