The European Commission's decision to provisionally apply the EU-Mercosur trade deal fails to recognise the role of the EU Parliament, according to the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA).

Argentina and Uruguay yesterday (Thursday, February 26) became the first Mercosur countries to ratify the deal.

It is expected that Brazil and Paraguay will follow suit soon.

In January, the European Council gave its approval for the EU Commission to provisionally apply the agreement once it had been ratified by one Mercosur country.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced this morning that "the commission will now proceed with provisional application".

"In line with the EU treaties, the agreement can only be fully concluded once the European Parliament has given its consent," she said.

Mercosur

IFA president Francie Gorman said the decision by the EU Commission to provisionally apply the Mercosur trade deal fails to respect the recent parliament vote to refer the deal to the European Courts of Justice (CJEU).

"It’s somewhat ironic that the commission president is so keen to drive on in the same week that their latest audit in Brazil shows the controls are not in place.

"Despite what the EU Commission has frequently said, the Brazilian authorities have not managed to get their house in order," he said.

Gorman said farmers would not agree with President von der Leyen that this will be a good deal.

"We have opposed Mercosur for over two decades. The issue we had with the deal then, particularly around traceability and lack of standards, has not gone away," he continued.

The IFA president said the deal still has to be ratified by the European Parliament.

"Their mandate in the process has to be respected. This announcement does not do that," he said.