Former president of Macra and former vice-president of CEJA (European Council of Young Farmers), Thomas Duffy has said that the decision from small countries like Ireland will be important for the ultimate decision for the Mercosur trade deal.
Duffy said that the deal will result in a “big clash” between France, which wants to reject the deal and Germany, where car manufacturing interests are a main part of the deal.
He said that the “smaller countries” could be the “king makers” of the decision.
With Ireland being one of the smallest countries in Europe, Duffy said it has an “outsized influence” on politics.
Mercosur
He added that Italy and Spain are not looking positively towards the deal and that the Belgian government have discussed “mirror clauses”.
This would require importing countries to meet not only the same safety standards as the rest of the EU, but also the same production standards.
Duffy said other countries will not accept terms of operating EU policy, but that it will “interesting” to see what position the European Parliament take on the deal.
He said the parliament rejected the Sustainable Use Regulation (SUR) for plant protection products, which was proposed in June 2022.
Following on from this, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen said she will propose the withdrawal of the regulation completely.
“If we want to be serious about climate then the Mercosur deal can’t go ahead in its current situation,” Duffy said.
EU relationship
Duffy said that the last European Parliament was formed by the “green wave”, which he described as a “product of years of policy and lobbying” for more action in climate change.
He added that the ongoing farm protests throughout Europe could be seen in the “same light”.
He said the relationship between the parliament and farmers has improved over the last two years.
“Now atleast, we are being listened to in so far as they want to talk with us and they’re meeting with us.
“That is over fear of ultimately food production standards, but increasingly a worry about all of these trade deals,” Duffy said.