Dialogos

Cyprus Faces Disaster: Government Signs Mercosur Without Consultation or Study

Published January 15, 2026, 08:00
Cyprus Faces Disaster: Government Signs Mercosur Without Consultation or Study

The president of the parliamentary agriculture committee, Giannakis Havriel, describes the government's signing of the Mercosur agreement as disastrous for the Cypriot primary sector, as it was done without consultation with stakeholders and without an impact assessment. He argues that the agreement will lead to unfair competition due to the import of cheap products from Latin America, often produced using banned pesticides. Furthermore, he denounces the lack of an impact assessment by the relevant ministries and expresses strong concern over the absence of halloumi from the list of protected PDO products. The committee discussion will continue next Tuesday, while he calls on Cypriot MEPs to vote against the agreement.