The start of this week has been dominated with news over the EU-Mercosur Trade Agreement, with a vote among EU member states on the deal seemingly planned for Friday (January 9).

The meeting on Friday of member states' permanent representatives to the EU (who are appointed by governments rather then being elected representatives or ministers) may see a vote to ratify the trade agreement.

If that vote happens and it passes, it is understood that this will be taken as member states' final vote on the matter, i.e. a vote among ministers will not be required.

To pass, the agreement would need a qualified majority of 15 member states voting in favour, who together account for 65% of the EU's population.

That meeting will be preceeded by a meeting tomorrow (Wednesday, January 7) of EU agriculture ministers.

The meeting tomorrow is not a scheduled meeting of EU agriculture ministers in the Council of the EU; rather, it is a European Commission-organised meeting, and it is understood that the Mercosur agreement will form part of the discussion.

The meeting of ministers will also be attended by Commissioner for Agriculture Christophe Hansen, Commissioner for Trade Maros Sefcovic, and Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare Oliver Varhelyi.

The commission said the purpose of the meeting is to discuss the future of farming and food security in Europe and the "main expectations for EU action" in 2026.

The commission cited the proposals for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) post-2027 and competitiveness for farmers as the main points of discussion.

However, it is understood that the Mercosur agreement will come up in the sidelines of the meeting, and possibly within the meeting itself.

Ahead of the developments this week, a spokesperson for Minister Heydon told Agriland: "The government has been actively engaged with our EU counterparts to voice Ireland’s concerns in relation to the EU-Mercosur agreement.

"We have repeatedly emphasised that beef is a very sensitive sector here in Ireland which is vulnerable to negative impacts from the Mercosur Agreement. The government still also has concerns on the preferential access being given to Mercosur if South American farmers are not subject to the same sustainable farming standards as our own farmers.

"Pending that ongoing work, our programme for government remains. Work with like-minded EU countries to stand up for Irish farmers and defend our interests in opposing the current Mercosur trade deal," the spokesperson said.

Minister Heydon is set to have a number of bilateral meetings tomorrow with his counterparts in other countries on several issues, including CAP, trade, and simplification.

"We have repeatedly emphasised Ireland's requirements for credible, legally-binding commitments on matters relating to trade and sustainable development, including climate, biodiversity, and deforestation protections, and will continue to do so this week," the spokesperson added.