Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon has been called on to hold "urgent, crucial discussions" with his Italian counterpart on the EU-Mercosur Trade Agreement.

It follows reports that Italy, after indicating opposition to the agreement prior to Christmas, may now be willing to adopt the deal, pushing a 'blocking minority' against the deal further out of reach.

Irish MEP Ciaran Mullooly called on the minister to engage in talks with Italian minister Francesco Lollobrigida today (Tuesday, January 6) ahead of a meeting of EU agriculture ministers tomorrow (Wednesday, January 7).

The meeting tomorrow is not a scheduled meeting of the 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.

This is all ahead of a meeting on Friday (January 9) of member states' permanent representatives to the EU (who are appointed by governments rather then being elected representatives or ministers), where a vote to ratify the trade agreement may take place.

Mullooly claimed this was "another attempt" by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to "force a vote" on the EU-Mercosur trade deal.

The Independent Ireland TD called on Minister Heydon to reject the 'safeguard' proposals for sensitive sectors, describing them as "wholly inadequate and completely unacceptable".

Mullooly said he has spoken to farming representative groups in Italy and around Europe, and that the safeguard proposals "do nothing to address the severe income losses Irish beef farmers and their European counterparts will suffer if the Mercosur trade agreement is signed off".

"We will have all of the pain and none of the gain from Mercosur. This agreement, if it is signed, will be done in the full and certain knowledge that Irish beef farmers’ incomes will be destroyed," he claimed.

"No Irish minister can ever contemplate signing up to a deal that would amount to a complete betrayal of Irish agriculture, Irish beef farmers, and the exceptionally high standards they are required to meet," Mullooly said.

He called on Minister Heydon to meet with the Italian minister and to urge the latter to vote no to the agreement.

Mullooly's party, Independent Ireland, has organised a major protest for Saturday (January 10) in Athlone, at which the organisers are expecting 10,000 people.

"The protest will go ahead regardless of what happens in Brussels this week as the controversial Mercosur trade agreement must cross two hurdles before it is approved or rejected by European member state and MEPs," the Mullooly said.

If the deal is ratified by member states, MEPs in the European Parliament will still have to vote on the agreement as well, it is understood.