Irish MEP, Billy Kelleher is due to meet with French president, Emmanuel Macron to discuss the latest developments in progressing a Mercosur trade deal.
Last week, European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen and her counterparts from four Mercosur countries finalised negotiations for a trade deal between the EU and Mercosur.
The controversial trade agreement would allow an additional 99,000t of beef enter the EU tariff-free from countries Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia.
The political agreement will open up the EU market to goods from Mercosur, but limits imports from Mercosur of “sensitive agricultural products” such as beef, ethanol, pork, honey, sugar and poultry.
Ahead of his planned visit to Paris, Fianna Fáil MEP Billy Kelleher said: “This is an exciting time to meet and speak with French president, Emmanuel Macron, about the Mercosur Trade Deal and how countries like France and Ireland can work together to ensure that both our farmers and the Amazon Rainforest are protected.”
Kelleher, who is deputy leader of the Renew Europe Group in the European Parliament, will travel to Paris on today Monday, December 9 to meet with the French president as well as leading members of the French government.
“While France is enduring difficulties regarding the formation of a new government, the entire political system is opposed to a Mercosur Trade Deal that threatens farmers’ livelihoods,” Kelleher continued,
“My visit, as part of a wider visit with the Renew Europe presidency team, will be an important opportunity to discuss the next steps now that a deal has been signed between the Mercosur countries and the European Commission.
“Ireland must work with its allies. As the head of the Fianna Fáil delegation in Europe, I will work constructively with President Macron and his presidential majority in any way possible to protect our common interests,” Kelleher said.
Other reaction to Mercosur
Meanwhile, Sligo-Leitrim TD Marian Harkin has called on the Irish Government to rigorously challenge the technical details in the trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur and build alliances with like-minded member states to ensure a level playing field for European beef farmers.
“Both the Taoiseach Simon Harris and Tánaiste Micheál Martin promised to reject the current Mercosur deal during the pre-election leaders’ debate and I expect both of them to honour the commitments they made at that time,” Harkin said.
Pointing out that the agreement would allow prime cuts of beef from Mercosur – the common market of South American countries – to enter the EU tariff-free, Deputy Harkin said the agreement would undermine the Irish suckler sector.
“If Mercosur goes through without amendments and readjustments being made to the deal, then Irish farmers will not be competing on a level playing pitch,” she said.
“Irish and EU farmers must operate under strict regulations abiding by directives on everything from soil quality to biodiversity protection and from strict veterinary medicine rules to land use restrictions. We have no guarantee that this will apply to South American beef.
“In this context, expecting Irish and EU farmers to compete with beef exporters from Mercosur countries is totally unreasonable. There has been much talk of culling the Irish national herd, but a poor Mercosur deal will accomplish that at one fell swoop,” Deputy Harkin said.
She has called on the Irish Government to immediately begin building strategic alliances with the French, Polish, the Dutch and the Austrians who are equally opposed to the deal in its current form.
Billy Kelleher’s party colleague, Barry Cowen MEP also commented that while the announcement last Friday by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen marks the conclusion of political talks around the Mercosur deal, it does not mean it is inevitable the deal will be accepted and introduced.
It is expected that a technical briefing will be organised to update MEPs on the finalised details of the deal imminently.
“As a member of the European Parliament’s International Trade and Agriculture Committees, I will be front and centre, scrutinising the details of this agreement thoroughly,” MEP Cowen said.
“We are being told that there will be a proposed €1 billion compensation fund for farmers, but that this is likely to come from existing CAP [Common Agricultural Policy] budgets, for example. This will be one of many issues with the deal I will not stand for and will be highlighting.”