Prospects for cattle breeding and husbandry in the context of new European Union legal acts based on the Mercosur agreement – ​​friend or foe

The natural consequence of domestic cattle breeding and milk and meat production is the protection of the domestic agricultural market from unfavourable economic changes that could affect its destabilisation. The agreement between the EU countries and the Mercosur countries, i.e. the community of South American countries (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay) was initiated in 1999. It aims to liberalise trade between both parties. This is currently one of the most important and controversial topics on the international economic scene, which raises many concerns among European farmers about the future of their industry. The main assumptions of the EU-Mercosur agreement that cause opposition from European farmers are: a) unrestricted access to the EU public market and its investments for Mercosur countries, b) the abolition of trade barriers and a reduction in the quality of EU sanitary standards and customs duties on many agricultural products, e.g. beef, soy or ethanol (cheap imports) c) disruption of economic cooperation in the field of environmental protection, workers' rights and sanitary regulations. d) high competitiveness for agricultural products from outside the EU, produced cheaper and under less rigorous conditions e) deepening the climate crisis related to deforestation and violation of the rights of indigenous peoples, which may cause damage to environmental protection (pressure from environmental organizations, e.g. Greenpeace) f) high social pressure from the entire agricultural sector (plant and animal production) will persuade politicians to delay the finalization of the agreement or introduce further changes. g) drastic drop in prices for European agricultural products and their replacement with even cheaper "Mercosur" ones, which will cause the collapse of small and medium-sized farms. Despite numerous doubts and protests from EU farmers, the European Commission is striving to ratify this agreement, the chances of which are currently estimated at 50% in 2025, as the agreement could bring EU companies savings of around 4 billion. An important element will be reaching an agreement on climate issues. If the Mercosur countries agree to stricter commitments regarding deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions, the EU will sign the agreement. At the same time, the European Commission will naturally have to find a way to compensate EU farmers for potential losses, e.g. by financially supporting European agriculture modernization programs. Modernizations would concern both RES production concerning the creation of biogas plants, wind farms or renewable energy from the sun or water, as well as the entire agricultural production covering all sectors of plant and animal production. In its current form, the EU-Mercosur agreement may have negative economic consequences for our country as well as other member states, including France - which has similar concerns. Therefore, at present, it is crucial for the entire agricultural sector to actively participate in consultations and dialogue with decision-makers in order to take the best possible care of European agriculture, including our domestic one, in the face of global economic changes.