FIANNA FÁIL MEPS RAISE SERIOUS RESERVATIONS OVER BEEF TALKS WITH EU TRADE CHIEF TODAY IN STRASBOURG

Fianna Fáil MEPs Liam Aylward MEP and Pat the Cope Gallagher MEP sought an urgent meeting today in Strasbourg with the Commissioner for Trade, Karel de Gucht to express their grave concerns about the re-opening of trade negotiations with Mercosur and to defend the position of Irish agriculture.

Liam Aylward MEP, Member of the Committee on Agriculture and the Mercosur Delegation stated: "An EU/Mercusor Free Trade Agreement would result in serious losses for EU agriculture and greater market access concessions without the benefits that a WTO agreement would bring. Agriculture is Ireland’s largest indigenous manufacturing industry and is a key industry in the context of Ireland’s economic recovery. Any threats to undermine that industry will have a major economic impact. Beef quotas of over 300,000t have been sought by Mercusor, this would seriously undermine our beef industry and must be rejected."

Pat the Cope Gallagher MEP said: "I have serious reservations about the decision to re-engage in negotiations with Mercosur and we are unhappy at the lack of discussion at political level prior to the Commission announcement. I have asked the Commissioner for clarity regarding the starting point for re-launch of these negotiations. I also wish to see a detailed analysis from the Commission of the social, economic and environmental impacts of the anticipated outcome of these negotiations ".

In communicating their concerns to the Commission the MEPs stated "The future of the Irish agriculture sector hangs in the balance here. The livelihood of thousands of farmers is at stake and the Commission must take a balanced approach that is in the interests of a European agriculture industry that is already under severe pressure in the current economic crisis".


20/05/2010