The Government has pointed to the opportunities for Irish industry, including the dairy and drink sectors, in a muted response to the European Commission decision to apply the Mercosur agreement provisionally.
Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Helen McEntee said although Ireland could not support the overall Mercosur agreement the deal provided opportunities for “agri-food exports in dairy and spirits as well as pharmaceuticals, engineering and manufacturing”.
Opposition and farming groups on Friday sharply criticised the decision to apply the Mercosur trade deal provisionally without the approval of the European Parliament, which had voted to send the matter to the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
The deal will lower tariffs and other barriers to trade between EU countries and a bloc formed by Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. It is a major new market for Europe.
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In the first official Government reaction, McEntee noted the decision and said “voting to grant authority to the Commission to apply the agreement on a provisional basis, Ireland did not support that vote, in particular given our concerns around the agreement’s potential impact on sensitive agricultural products, in particular the beef sector”.
She pointed to the opportunities for dairy, drinks, pharmaceuticals, engineering and manufacturing sectors.
Later Tánaiste Simon Harris said it was “very important to be respectful of the process and be respectful of the European Parliament”.
He said Ireland valued free trade, but it was “important that there is a level playing field when it comes to standards. That’s why we weren’t in a position to support the Mercosur agreement”.
Social Democrats agriculture spokeswoman Jennifer Whitmore was “hugely disappointed with this decision, which is anti-democratic to its core”.
“I don’t believe the Irish Government did enough during the negotiations, but I hope now they will be very vocal in their opposition to this move,” she said.
Such “provisional” decisions can last for years, such as the Ceta trade agreement between the European Union and Canada which has been in operation since 2017 but has yet to be agreed by all EU states.
Of the EU’s 27 member states, 21 supported the Merocosur deal in a vote in January. The qualified majority system allowed its approval despite the objections of Ireland, France, Poland and others.
That meant the European Commission could trigger the “provisional application” of the pact. MEPs voted to refer the deal to the ECJ, seen by authorities as a move to delay the deal. The court is the highest in the EU.
Irish Farmers’ Association president Francie Gorman said the move failed to respect the recent European Parliament vote to refer the deal to the ECJ.
“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,” Gorman said.
“Despite what the EU Commission has frequently said, the Brazilian authorities have not managed to get their house in order.”
He rejected European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen’s assertion it would be a good deal.
“We have opposed Mercosur for over two decades,” he said. The issue “particularly around traceability and lack of standards, has not gone away”.
Sinn Féin agriculture spokesman Martin Kenny described the move as “totally undemocratic”.
“It flies in the face of the European Parliament, who sent it to the ECJ. They did that for good reason and there needs to be respect for the parliament’s decision,” he said.
His view was echoed by the party’s MEPs. Kathleen Funchion and Lynn Boylan.
Funchion said: “Von der Leyen has for a long time put the interests of large industrial companies ahead of family farms, the environment, and public health, and now she is putting their interests ahead of the democratic processes that govern the EU.”
Boylan said: “Rejecting the position of democratically elected MEPs represents a dangerous new move.”
Fine Gael MEP Maria Walsh said she was “bitterly disappointed” with the decision, but not surprised because the referral to the ECJ would not block the deal “only change the route by which it comes into force”.
