Arvanitis argues that the Commission is using “legal tricks” and an “artificial split” of the agreement to avoid national ratifications, despite widespread protests across Europe and renewed farmers’ blockades in Greece. He claims the move undermines democratic oversight and ignores the political backlash unfolding from Paris and Warsaw to Brussels.
He warns that the agreement would open the door to large-scale imports of agricultural products produced with pesticides banned in the EU, while accelerating environmental degradation in the Amazon. European and Greek farmers, he notes, are already struggling under high production costs and strict EU standards.
Despite the Commission’s push, Arvanitis stresses that “nothing is final,” as the decisive vote will take place in the European Parliament. There, MEPs will face a choice, he says: “stand with big industrial interests – especially the automotive sector – or with farmers and environmental protection.”
The final text is expected to go before the Parliament for ratification by March 2026. Any non-trade elements of the deal will require approval from national parliaments in 2027. Arvanitis insists SYRIZA will oppose the agreement throughout the process, rejecting what he calls “coup-like tactics” by the Commission.
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