The European Parliament has voted to strengthen safeguards for Irish farmers under the EU-Mercosur trade agreement, MEP Maria Walsh has said.
MEP Walsh proposed a number of measures to be included which strengthens protections for Irish farmers, ensuring that any safeguards are activated quickly when market pressures arise.
Under the newly adopted rules, the European Commission must present a monitoring report every six months assessing the impact of the Mercosur deal on sensitive agricultural sectors, such as beef. The Commission will also be required to open an investigation if import volumes rise by 5% or prices for sensitive products drop by 5%.
MEP Walsh also expressed her disappointment at the Irish MEPs who voted against the strengthened safeguards, a move which risks farmers being left without any meaningful protections.
Maria Walsh MEP, full member of the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee, said:
“I remain firmly opposed to the Mercosur deal, but we must be pragmatic and have the strongest possible protections in place for Irish farmers. Securing meaningful safeguards has therefore been a top priority of my work in the European Parliament.
“It has been a long road to finally secure these safeguards for farmers. If it wasn’t for the pressure applied by myself and my colleagues on the Agriculture Committee last year, these safeguards would not exist today in their current form. The fact that we have stronger protections for Irish farmers is a testament to the work of MEPs and the power of the European Parliament.
“I tabled a number of measures to be included within the safeguards to specifically help Irish farmers. My focus was on ensuring that if any market disruption does occur, the lower tariffs for Mercosur imports are stopped as quickly as possible. I pushed for practical measures that activate quickly – not vague promises on paper.
“I have to say that I’m deeply disappointed to see a number of Irish MEPs vote against this motion. Any MEP who voted against the safeguards has let Irish farmers down today. Voting against only causes further delays and risks the Mercosur agreement being implemented without any protections at all for our agricultural sector. Farmers deserve honesty about the consequences of such votes.”