Hungary to vote against EU-Mercosur trade agreement:Minister

Hungary will vote against the proposed EU-Mercosur free trade agreement, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Thursday.

The European Commission was pushing to adopt and implement an agreement that would open European markets to what he described as unlimited imports of South American agricultural products, Szijjarto said on US social media company X.

"The European Commission is forcing through a deal that would come at the expense of the livelihoods of Hungarian farmers," he said, adding that Budapest strongly opposes the agreement in its current form.

The agreement would grant preferential tariffs for imports of beef, poultry, dairy products, sugar and ethanol from Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia, while European industrial goods would gain wider access to South American markets.

The deal, initially expected to be signed in December, was postponed to the new year due to last-minute opposition from member states like France and Italy, who were concerned about agricultural impacts.

Opposition to the deal has also surfaced elsewhere. In mid-December, farmers from several European countries, including France and Italy, protested in Brussels, warning that Mercosur tariff preferences could harm European agriculture.