EU-Mercosur agreement: No unified regional position

Contrary to expectations, the signing of the EU-Mercosur agreement did not take place. Although the well-known objections affect Central European countries equally, the issue still divides the stakeholders.

While there is a need for an economic partnership with South America to compensate for the cooling relations with the United States, the agreement between the two economic regions is being delayed due to internal reasons, primarily the protection of the European agricultural market and environmental concerns. EU member states are divided on the issue, and CEE countries also hold different stances.

Poland and Hungary prioritize the competitiveness of the sector and the protection of domestic farmers

In Poland, the government and political leaders openly opposed the EU-Mercosur trade agreement due to its potential impact on agriculture. According to the Polish Minister of Agriculture, the agreement would threaten the competitiveness of the domestic agricultural sector, and therefore Poland represented a position that does not support the agreement in its current form. This resistance partly relies on strong opinions from the agricultural sector, which argue that cheap agricultural products from Mercosur could negatively affect Polish farmers. Consequently, the government supported French efforts to review or reject the agreement.

Hungary also took a critical stance toward the agreement. The Hungarian government – similar to several other EU member states sensitive to agriculture – emphasized that the trade deal could result in significant agricultural import pressure, potentially endangering domestic producers, and therefore Budapest generally did not support the agreement in its current form. During the relevant days, the government arranged trips for numerous pro-government journalists and influencers to Brussels, amplifying the protest voices observed on the streets of the Belgian capital in the Hungarian media.

Czech and Slovak governments stay silent, but critical voices emerge

In the Czech Republic and Slovakia, there was no clearly official government rejection of the agreement as a whole, unlike in Poland or Hungary, but strong agricultural-critical voices emerged in the farming sector and among civil organizations. Czech farmers and agricultural associations voiced several complaints, particularly regarding concerns about agricultural imports under the EU-Mercosur agreement, and participated in protests and demonstrations calling for reduced agricultural imports and a review of the agrarian-related sections of the agreement.

Romania shifted from opposition to support

Romanian public opinion regarding the Mercosur agreement has recently shifted, with different sources presenting varied pictures. In early 2025, the Romanian Minister of Agriculture expressed concerns about the agreement, stating that it could negatively affect Romanian agriculture, and requested support for temporary protective measures. However, in December 2025, the Romanian President made it clear that the country supports the Mercosur agreement, after some concerns were considered “overcome,” emphasizing the benefits of trade openness toward such a large South American market. At the same time, civil agricultural interest groups in Romania also expressed solidarity with other EU farmers, criticizing the competitive impact of agricultural imports and policies related to the CAP.