French President Emmanuel Macron tried today to calm the anger of the farmers calling on the European Union to regulate imports of agricultural products from Ukraine and relax agricultural regulations.

Macron, who made these statements during a visit to Sweden, it also rejected a draft trade deal with the South American Mercosur coalition in its current form.

“We asked (from the EU) very specific things for our farmers“, said Macron, who will be at a summit of EU leaders in Brussels the day after tomorrow, Thursday. He called for a European-wide debate on agricultural regulations, particularly to ensure that imported products meet European standards.

Imports from Ukraine, on which the EU waived quotas and tariffs after Russia invaded in February 2022, and renewed negotiations to reach a deal with Mercosur have fueled the dismay of farmers who complain about unfair competition in sugar , in grains and meat.

France wants “clear measures on imports from Ukraine because today we have in volume and quality things that are destabilizing the European market, be it chickens or cereals,” Macron said.

The European Commission said today it was still pursuing a deal with Mercosur, a day after Macron’s office said it understood the EU had stalled talks.

Macron said he did not want the deal in its current form because there were no guarantees that imported products would have to follow similar rules to European ones.

Peasants in France they say they are underpaid, suffocated by what they see as excessive environmental regulations and face unfair competition from cheap imports.

Some of their concerns, such as competition from imports and strict environmental rules, are shared by producers from other EU countries, while others, such as food price negotiations, are more specific to France.

Macron also said he wanted more flexibility on some common European rules including those on set-aside.

“Europe should be less demanding with those (farmers) who work hard every dayhe told reporters during his visit to Sweden, adding that he would like to discuss the issue with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels on Thursday.

Solutions for Ukraine as well

Europe must take “just and brave decisions”, even “innovative” ones in the coming months to “accelerate” and strengthen its military support for Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron said today during his visit in Sweden.

“We must be ready to act, defend and support Ukraine, no matter what,” especially in the American presidential elections in November, he emphasized in a speech at the Carlberg Military Academy, estimating that the “cost” of a victory for of Russia will be “too high for us”.