Farmers protest in Austria against the Mercosur free trade agreement with South American countries
Austrian farmers criticize EU's agricultural policies and make demands on the government

GENEVA
Austrian farmers demonstrated Thursday in Vienna against the South American Mercosur free trade agreement.
A mountain of paper was symbolically unloaded in front of parliament during the protest that was organized by the Independent Farmers' Association of Austria (UBV).
The paper is a symbol of EU bureaucracy, said the group.
“We demand a reduction in bureaucracy and authorities by at least 50%. To this end, we demand that the current control frenzy be stopped in its current form or that it be redesigned in a way that is reasonable for farmers,” the UBV said in a statement on its website.
The UBV presented a list of 42 demands to Parliament President Walter Rosenkranz of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPO).
The farmers' demands include a “No” to the free trade agreement between the EU and South American nations.
“For years, we have been committed to GMO-free food products. And then goods are to come to Europe from countries where not only the rainforest is being cut down without borders, but where genetic engineering companies are also setting the pace for production. This deal is no coincidence, but a planned attack on farmers in the EU,” the UBV argued for voting no to the free trade agreement.
Another demand of the farmers is a general ban on food products that do not have the same production requirements as Austria.
“Today, 30 years after Austria's accession to the EU in 1995, we, many or most Austrian farmers, are disillusioned, embittered, outraged, angry, desperate, resigned, tired, broken, frustrated, uprooted, disenfranchised, incapacitated, humiliated, robbed of their livelihoods,” said the group.
The UBV urged politicians to “read our issues and demands carefully because “without an immediate - clear and significant change in agricultural policy, there will soon be no more farmers.”
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