EU Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi has pledged tighter controls and a 50% increase in audits on food imports from MERCOSUR countries to ensure compliance with EU health standards, responding to concerns over banned substances such as growth hormones and harmful pesticides. The measures, outlined in a written answer to a parliamentary question from ECR MEP Emmanouil Fragkos, include updated rules effective from September 2026 that impose stricter prohibitions on antimicrobials usage in animal husbandry, alongside a new import controls Task Force. The Commission also references legislative packages operationalizing EU principles against hazardous pesticide residues and continuous border enforcement mechanisms.
This announcement follows a series of recent EU actions to tighten agri-food import controls. On April 9, 2026, Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen announced a new task force on agri-food import controls aimed at tougher and more uniform scrutiny across EU borders, targeting concerns of European farmers over third-country imports. That initiative, responding to a parliamentary question from MEP Carmen Crespo Díaz, signaled a pivot towards stronger compliance and competition measures. The current commitment to increase audits by 50% over two years echoes the Commission's earlier pledge on April 17, 2026, to boost audits in third countries by 50% and reinforce border controls after a Brazilian hormone-contaminated meat scandal, where estradiol contamination led to delisting of the implicated plant and suspension of the certification body.
Várhelyi's response also aligns with broader EU efforts to safeguard agricultural sectors from import pressures. On April 13, 2026, he signaled stronger safeguards for the EU tomato sector against lower-priced imports from Egypt, and on April 9, he clarified EU-Brazil poultry and egg export rules, asserting continued safety oversight. The Commission's firm stance on import standards was further underscored on April 16, 2026, when INTA members clashed over the EU-Australia FTA, with Daniel Buda warning that quotas for sensitive products like beef, combined with questionable standards enforcement, risked undermining EU farming. Additionally, on April 14, Commissioner Hansen hinted at suspending inward processing arrangements in the EU sugar market to protect producers from low-priced imports.
The new measures aim to reassure EU consumers of food safety transparency while placing compliance pressure on MERCOSUR exporters, who may face increased costs and administrative burdens. National authorities will need to enhance inspection capacities, and EU taxpayers may shoulder the cost of expanded controls. The Commission's planned follow-up includes scaling up audits and reinforcing import control systems, signaling a continued firm approach to maintaining EU sanitary standards amid evolving trade dynamics with MERCOSUR.