The Council of Ministers of the EU is unsure if there would be a majority in the qualified majority voting (QMV) system in the EU in relation to the proposed Mercosur trade deal.

Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Helen McEntee was speaking in Brussels today (Monday, December 15) just after France announced that it was a vote on the Mercosur trade deal pushed back.

The deal would see Mercosur countries such as Brazil and Uruguay remove import duties on 91% of EU goods.

However, on the other side of the agreement, the Mercosur countries would get to sell their goods to the EU with fewer restrictions. These include sugar, honey, soybeans, and, importantly to Ireland, meat, specifically beef.

The European Commission has emphasised that stringent 'safeguards' would be implemented to ensure the deal does not affect farmers in the EU.

However countries such as Ireland, and now France in a very decisive way, have stated that they are not happy with the so-called 'safeguards'.

The French Prime Minister, Sebastien Leconru said that the deal in its current format "is not acceptable".

"While a Mercosur summit is announced on 20 December, it is clear in this context that the conditions are not met for any vote by the Council of the EU on authorising the signing of the agreement," he added.

Mercosur in Brussels

Speaking in Brussels today, Minister Helen McEntee said: "I think we have been very clear on the concerns that we have had in relation to Mercosur, in particular our beef farmers.

"We have always said that we will work with like-minded countries and we are working through and we are assessing the situation at the moment. We don't have a date for a vote; it's not clear when a vote may or may not happen.

"What we don't know is whether or not there is a majority in QMV moving forward here, so we'll continue to work with colleagues, we'll have to assess the situation and without sight of when a vote is, we need to engage with colleagues on this," McEntee added.

Protest

A major protest involving farmers from across the European Union, including Ireland will take place on Thursday (December 18) in Brussels, organised by Copa Cogeca which represents farmers and co-ops.

Over 40 member organisations from 27 European countries have announced their presence at the demonstration march, where 10,000 farmers are expected.

The organisers have said the protest is taking place in the following context:

Unacceptable post-2027 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) proposals that lack commonality and adequate funding;
Trade policy pursued by the EU at the clear disadvantage of the European agricultural sector;
The need for simplification, better regulations and legal certainty.