Are EU Free Trade Agreements for sustainable agriculture strengthening coherence between internal and external actions? A doctoral dissertation conducted at the Dirpolis (Law, Politics and Developemnt) Institute identifies critical points
The European Union’s policy should help to ensure a sustainable approach to food systems and food safety throughout domestic and international regulations. The analysis of how free trade agreements (FTAs) and sustainability standards may be not compatible starts with their integration in the EU laws on emissions of greenhouse gases, animal welfare standards, as well as air, water and soil pollution resulting from food production and the loss of biodiversity.
There is no doubt, at present, that the current free trade agreements present risks and challenges for the EU and third country parties. At the heart of this discussion are the key contractual principles and the right balance between parties. Luchino Ferraris, a young scholar from Sant’Anna School, in his doctoral dissertation “The pursuit of sustainable agriculture in EU Free Trade Agreements” published by Wageningen Academic Publishers with a preface written by Daniel Calleja Crespo, EC Director General for the Environment, investigated the future of farm and food production policy at the EU level as at international level the EU is the biggest importer as well as exporter of agriculture products and food.
Focusing on how changes to trading arrangements and regulatory agreements could impact on food producers and consumers, Ferraris presented his dissertation during the Coronavirus outbreak on March 16, 2020. He received his PhD in Human Rights and Global Politics: Legal, Philosophic and Economic Challenges from the Sant’Anna School DIRPOLIS Institute (supervisor Mariagrazia Alabrese, professor of Agricultural and Food Law) and he is currently working as Legal Officer in the EC agri-food directorate. His work adopted a legal methodology integrating interdisciplinary research and traditional legal research. It is addressed not only to EU policymakers, but also to scholars of different fields and to the wider public interested in new trading relationships.
The fundamental research question of his work concerns the extent to which the EU pursues sustainable agriculture in third countries by means of its FTAs with developed and developing countries - Canada, South Korea, Ukraine, Chile, SADC countries and Vietnam.
“The EU can arguably boast of the highest standards in terms of sustainable development – Ferraris explains - The EU is bound by its own Treaties to promote its main values including environmental protection, a fair income and decent conditions for workers, new efficiencies and economics of sale.”
“I focused on the environmental dimension of FTAs and the agreements the EU concluded after the 2006 Commission Communication ‘Global Europe: Competing in the world’. These efforts – said Ferraris – seem insufficient to reverse the negative impacts that such agreements may have on the environment.
Stakeholders have expressed concerns that free trade deals might allow imports of food produced under (safety and environmental) standards currently not permitted in the EU. Standards compliance must be demonstrated. The European Green Deal 2019 aims to transform the EU into a resource-efficient and competitive economy where there are no net emissions of greenhouse gases and where new technologies and disruptive innovation are critical to achieve the objectives of the Green Deal. Compliance with EU policies is expected to play a crucial role in implementing a uniform sustainability norm and leading to an avoidance of “arbitrary and unjustifiable discrimination” in national and international sustainability criteria for the 2050 climate-neutrality objective.”
By shifting the focus from compliance to performance, measures such as Green Deal arrangements should reward farmers and producers for improved environmental and climate performance. While this sounds fine in principle, Luchino Ferraris highlights that major questions remain whether amendments to the EC’s legislation will drive the green transition in farming, and whether the proposed governance arrangements are sufficiently robust to ensure that strategic plans grant access to high quality products for all citizens.
