Irish MEPs urged to lobby against Mercosur deal

Irish MEPs have been urged to continue the ‘vote no’ campaign against Mercosur, despite the provisional agreement reached on the import deal last week.

Speaking as MEPs returned to Brussels on Monday, Ireland South MEP Cynthia Ní Mhurchú said the vote by EU member states to approve Mercosur does not mark the end of the process, but rather the start of lobbying efforts ahead of the European Parliament vote.

Ireland was one of five countries, including France, Austria, Hungary and Poland, to vote against the deal on Friday, which would see the import of beef products from four South American countries — Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.

Despite this, the deal was provisionally accepted with a 20 out of 27 majority, and will go on to be ratified at the European Parliament.

“Between now and [the European Parliament] vote, I will be engaging with colleagues from across the political spectrum to campaign for a no vote on this deal,” said Ms Ní Mhurchú.

“We must communicate to our colleagues that a better deal is possible, one which does not undermine and threaten our farmers.”

Ms Ní Mhurchú said the agreement would disproportionately impact Irish farmers and rural communities, particularly across the south, and urged her fellow MEPs to consider the public health and environmental risks of accepting Mercosur beef into EU markets.

“It is fundamentally unfair to expect Irish farmers, who comply with some of the strictest standards in the world, to compete with imports produced under far lower regulatory requirements. I stand firmly with Irish farmers and rural communities and will do everything in my power to oppose this agreement.”