Thousands of Irish farmers protest against EU-Mercosur trade deal | Ireland
Thousands of Irish farmers are protesting the EU’s trade deal with South American bloc Mercosur, a day after EU states approved the deal despite opposition from Ireland and France.
Tractors flocked to the roads of Athlone in Central Ireland for the demonstration, bearing banners bearing the slogan “Stop EU-Mercosur” and an EU flag reading “sold”.
Protests followed similar actions in Poland, France and Belgium on Friday after the EU gave the green light to the trade deal, which was welcomed by business groups but heavily criticized by European farmers.
The agreement, which has been more than 25 years in the making, will create one of the world’s largest free trade areas and increase trade between the 27-nation EU and the Mercosur bloc consisting of Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay.
Mercosur’s main exports to the EU include agricultural products and minerals, while the EU will export machinery, chemicals and pharmaceuticals at reduced tariffs.
But many European farmers fear the flow of cheaper goods from agricultural giant Brazil and its neighbors will diminish their livelihoods, prompting Ireland, France, Poland, Hungary and Austria to vote against the deal.
The deal is opposed by Irish farmers over fears it would disrupt Irish agriculture by causing an extra 99,000 tonnes of cheap beef to flow in from South America.
Ireland’s main farmers’ lobby group, the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA), described the outcome as extremely disappointing and said it would focus on ensuring a majority against the deal in the European parliament.
“We expect Irish MPs to stand behind the farming community and reject the Mercosur deal,” IFA president Francie Gorman said in a statement.
Earlier this week, Ireland’s taoiseach (prime minister) Micheál Martin expressed concern that Mercosur beef could not be produced to the EU’s strict environmental standards, saying people needed to be confident that the standards and obligations set for Irish farmers would not be undermined by less stringently regulated imports.
At Saturday’s protest, farmers held banners calling for “Irexit” and accusing the Latin American bloc’s beef exports of not meeting the same standards.
The Mercosur agreement will also need to be accepted by a majority of MEPs in the European assembly in the coming months, when voting coalitions become more volatile and unpredictable.
