The European Commissioner for the Environment, Virginijus Sinkevicius, has told the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine that he will accept an invitation to visit Ireland following the commission’s decision on the nitrates derogation.
Minister Charlie McConalogue, who was in Brussels today (Monday, September 18) to attend the Agriculture and Fisheries Council meeting, said he had met with Commissioner Sinkevicius who will “visit Ireland and view the strong work being undertaken by farmers to improve water quality”.
Minister McConalogue added: “This visit will provide an opportunity to show the commissioner in person how our agricultural production system differs to other member states.
“It will also provide an opportunity to showcase the efforts of Irish farmers to improve water quality, and help Ireland to lay the groundwork for the renewal of the derogation in 2026.
“It is by all farmers from all sectors working together through our Nitrates Action Plan (NAP) that this will be achieved.”
At the beginning of this month Minister McConalogue said that the EU Commission had said there was “no prospect” of reopening the current commission decision on Ireland’s nitrates derogation.
Ireland’s current derogation is due to expire on January 1, 2026 and the derogation limit is due to reduce to 220kg organic nitrogen (N) per hectare on January 1, 2024 in certain areas, because the latest water quality results have not shown sufficient improvement.
A spokesperson for the EU Commission has said that Commissioner Sinkevicius “recognised and welcomed the efforts that both the Irish authorities and Irish farmers are making to reverse negative trends on water quality and meet the requirements of the nitrates directive”.
No date has yet been confirmed for the commissioner’s visit to Ireland.
EU trade deals
Separately, Minister McConalogue has also called on the commission to provide further analysis on the proposed EU-Mercosur and EU-Australia Trade Negotiations.
The EU-Mercosur Free Trade Agreement was agreed in 2019 but its ratification has been stalled due to concerns raised by member states, including Ireland on a number of issues, not least the potential impact of imports on the EU beef market.
The commission had agreed to include an “additional instrument” addressing sustainability commitments in relation to the agreement.
Speaking in Brussels today at the Agriculture and Fisheries Council, the minister said that he had noted that Mercosur’s response to the additional instrument has recently been received by the commission and would welcome their analysis of this text.
“As you are aware, Ireland has consistently sought for the commission to ensure that this instrument is comprehensive in its scope. It must include binding commitments on climate change, biodiversity, combating deforestation and labour rights,” he added.
He also warned that any EU-Australia negotiations must also take into account the “cumulative impact” of other free trade agreements.
“In re-engaging with Australia, the commission must ensure that the EU offer on sensitive products, in particular for beef and sheepmeat, must be minimised to avoid negative impacts on EU markets,” Minister McConalogue added.