Uporaba okvirov trajnosti za strateško zastopanje interesov evropskega kmetijskega sektorja v okviru pogajanj z Mercosurjem

This Master’s thesis examines how the European agricultural interest group Copa Cogeca uses sustainability-related frames to position itself in the public debate around the EU-Mercosur trade agreement. Using a qualitative content analysis of 37 press releases that were published by the interest group in the time span from 2010 to 2025, the thesis identifies how economic, ecological, justice-related, and security frames are strategically employed to oppose the treaty. The research furthermore explores how these frames evolve over time, how they react to exog- enous events (e.g. Brexit, Brazil’s environmental policies), and vary by lobbying strategy (in- side vs. outside). The findings are linked to broader questions of interest group behaviour in EU multi-level governance and are contrasted with Copa Cogeca’s positions on the Farm to Fork strategy and draws implications on the Common Agricultural Policy. The thesis comes to the conclusion that sustainability arguments vary in the context of policy field, employing it to emphasize economic interests of the agricultural sector within trade agreements while simulta- neously constructing a greener image of the agricultural sector which reveals contradictions with the history of CAP and its resistance to (sustainability) reforms.