ePURE reacts to European Parliament vote on EU-Mercosur safeguards

ePURE, the European Renewable Ethanol Association, has responded to the European Parliament’s vote on enhanced safeguard measures in the context of the EU-Mercosur trade agreement.
The European Parliament voted in favour of stricter safeguards to protect EU agricultural producers by lowering the threshold for triggering investigations into imports from Mercosur countries and shortening the timeline for action.
The new rules require an import increase of 5 % over a three-year average — rather than the Commission’s original 10 % proposal — and allow for quicker intervention when sensitive products like beef and poultry threaten domestic markets.
MEPs also backed measures that would require Mercosur imports to meet EU production standards before preferential access is restored, emphasising stronger monitoring and enforcement.
While acknowledging the Parliament’s efforts to bolster safeguards, ePURE warns that these measures do not go far enough to address the fundamental imbalance the trade deal creates for sensitive sectors such as renewable ethanol production.
According to ePURE’s longstanding position, the current structure of the EU-Mercosur agreement risks exposing European ethanol producers and farmers to unfair competition from imports produced under lower regulatory standards, undermining rural jobs, food security, and the EU’s strategic autonomy in biofuels.
ePURE calls on EU policymakers to ensure that any final agreement includes genuine reciprocity in environmental, social, and food-safety standards — and fair market conditions for EU producers — as negotiations with the Council and Mercosur continue.