EU Commission officials will visit Ireland early next year in a last-ditch attempt to persuade Irish farmers to back a deal with South American trading bloc Mercosur, Irish media reported on Monday.
A team of officials from the commission will be here early next year to “speak directly” to farm representatives.
Business Minister Peter Burke said it would be a chance for EU officials to address questions about possible heavy paperwork and give an ‘informed understanding’ of the deal.
The government is opposed to the controversial trade deal, with the Irish Farmers Association (IFA) calling it a “sell-out.”
The trade deal with the Mercosur bloc, which includes Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, would be the biggest for the EU in terms of partner population and tariff cuts, which could amount to €4bn a year, phased in over several years.
The deal has been in development for 25 years and was finalised earlier this month by the EU and South American countries.
Burke met EU trade commissioner Maroš Sefčovič last Friday and they agreed to send a “special mission” to talk to farming representatives. He said:
“My department will facilitate a series of discussions early in 2025. I am confident that this will help ensure an informed understanding for all sides of the consequences of the new Mercosur agreement text.”
He said he had “deep concerns” about “unintended consequences” in the agreement. Burke added:
“While no final decision on adoption is imminent, I believe that all stakeholders, and the farming community in particular, need to be fully informed of all aspects of the proposed future trade arrangements with the Mercosur bloc. The commission needs to be made aware of our model of farming here, the practices that farmers have implemented over the last number of decades and the sustainability measures which are now the bedrock of Irish farming.”
Irish farmers said the deal could mean a lot of paperwork to ensure traceability of meat.
Finalising the Mercosur deal
On December 6, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen concluded free trade talks with the Mercosur group of countries, after which farmers in several EU countries said they were ready for mass protests.
At the beginning of 2024, a wave of discontent with rising fuel and fertiliser prices, foreign competition and new EU environmental regulations swept across Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Romania, Greece, Belgium and France.
In particular, farmers expressed their dissatisfaction with the tightening of legislation, cuts in state support, high energy, fuel and fertiliser costs against the backdrop of the Ukrainian conflict, the import of cheap grain products from Ukraine and restrictions on water use.
They are also convinced that the forthcoming EU agreement with the Latin American bloc Mercosur will worsen their plight.
