Mercosur signing moves Irish beef farmers’ nightmare one step closer to reality

Independent TD for Offaly Carol Nolan has strongly condemned the formal signing today in Asunción, Paraguay, of the EU-Mercosur agreements by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Deputy Nolan said that “although the move was clearly signalled and not unanticipated, the signing of the Agreement, which now requires only the consent of the European Parliament and ratification by Mercosur member states, will still send a shiver down the spine of thousands of farm families throughout Ireland.”

She added, “Nothing is breaking through to the President von der Leyen or indeed those who want to see this Agreement in place irrespective of the damage it will do a core pillar of the Irish agricultural economy and the integrity of the EU’s food standards regime. That is profoundly alarming.”

“Unless there is an 11^th hour reprieve by the European Parliament, it is now almost certain that the Irish beef sector will enter an period of sustained economic emergency.”

“I have written to both the Taoiseach and Tánaiste to strongly encourage both of them to continue making every effort possible to oppose this deal in collaboration with other member states,” Deputy Nolan concluded.

ENDS