ICSA: Commission decision on Mercosur deal 'beyond frustrating'
The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers' Association (ICSA) has slammed the European Commission's decision to push ahead with the EU-Mercosur trade deal.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen confirmed today (Friday, February 27) that it will provisionally apply the agreement.
The announcement followed Argentina and Uruguay becoming the first Mercosur countries to ratify the deal.
President von der Leyen told a press conference that "Brazil and Paraguay are expected to follow soon".
As part of the agreement, 99,000t of Mercosur beef will be allowed to enter the EU market with a 7.5% duty.
The commission has put forward a range of market safeguards in response to concerns raised by EU farmers.
Mercosur
ICSA president Sean McNamara said the decision to provisionally apply the trade deal, before the European Parliament has voted and while a legal review is pending, is "beyond frustrating".
"We campaigned long and hard for a legal review of this deal because there are serious questions around it.
"A majority of MEPs supported that call. So it is very hard to accept that the commission would now press ahead as if that vote carried no weight,” he said.
McNamara added: "If there are legal questions before the European Court of Justice, the reasonable course of action is to wait.
"That is simply respecting the process. This is about respect for Parliament and respect for due process.
"Describing it as provisional does not change the reality that once it is applied, the whole thing is effectively a done deal."
ICSA
The ICSA is now calling for the provisional application to be stopped until the legal review is complete and the European Parliament has voted.
"If the commission is determined to plough ahead regardless, then beef and poultry must be taken out of this agreement in full.
"You cannot demand world-leading standards from European producers on climate, environment and animal welfare, and at the same time ask them to compete with imports produced to entirely different rules.
"Nor can you tell consumers that certain production practices are not acceptable in Europe, only to allow food produced to those standards onto supermarket shelves. It is complete hypocrisy," McNamara said.
The ICSA president said farmers are angry that their concerns are "simply being brushed aside".
"We were told there would be scrutiny. We were told there would be a legal examination. Yet the process moves on regardless.
"That sends a very poor signal about how seriously both farmers and Parliament are being taken, and it’s simply not good enough," he said.
