Mercosur: Lollobrigida, safeguard mechanism price threshold to fall to 5%

Milan, 8 January (LaPresse) – “Yesterday in Brussels, representing the Italian government, I took a very clear stance in defence of our system, so that Italian companies can become increasingly competitive and stronger on the markets. It is precisely for this reason that we asked for and obtained economic guarantees from Europe on the CAP that were unthinkable just a few weeks ago. These resources will allow our farmers to have the right support for their activities. Alongside this, we have set conditions to significantly improve Mercosur and have achieved important results that make it more advantageous. Even today, however, we are committed to seeking and obtaining further results to safeguard the Italian and European agricultural system. Among other things, Italy had contributed to the adoption of a safeguard mechanism against the disruptions that the opening of markets could have created. The European authorities had set the threshold for this mechanism to be triggered at an 8% drop in prices. We officially requested at yesterday’s meeting, and we expect to obtain, that the threshold be lowered to 5%, as the European Parliament had also indicated’. This was stated in a note by the Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, Francesco Lollobrigida.