Minister Creed said this week that he intended to "frustrate" the Mercosur deal. \ Dave Ruffles
ADVERTISEMENT
Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed has defended his tough stance on the Mercosur deal, telling RTÉ’s CountryWide that his role is to “defend beef farmers”.
Earlier this week, Minister Creed raised some political eyebrows when he said he would do everything in his power to frustrate the Mercosur deal.
Asked if his reaction was in any way hysterical, he replied: “Beef farmers are where my interests lie.
ADVERTISEMENT
“Sitting on my hands is not an option. I have to do everything in my power to protect beef farmers
“If beef was excluded [from the deal] I’d be at the front of the queue clapping this agreement.”
Commissioner Hogan
When asked on his opinion on whether Commissioner for Agriculture and party colleague Phil Hogan should be re-endorsed as commissioner in the next European Commission, Minister Creed said he believed he should be.
He was also asked to comment on reports that some members of the Fine Gael party thought Commissioner Hogan had not done a good enough job for agriculture on the deal, but Minister Creed pointed out that the original negotiation stance had been to let 300,000t of beef access to the EU market.
He added that the deal was spearheaded by the European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström and not Phil Hogan.
This content is available to digital subscribers and loyalty code users only. Sign in to your account, use the code or subscribe to get unlimited access.
The reader loyalty code gives you full access to the site from when you enter it until the following Wednesday at 9pm. Find your unique code on the back page of Irish Country Living every week.
CODE ACCEPTED
You have full access to the site until next Wednesday at 9pm.
CODE NOT VALID
Please try again or contact support.
Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed has defended his tough stance on the Mercosur deal, telling RTÉ’s CountryWide that his role is to “defend beef farmers”.
Earlier this week, Minister Creed raised some political eyebrows when he said he would do everything in his power to frustrate the Mercosur deal.
Asked if his reaction was in any way hysterical, he replied: “Beef farmers are where my interests lie.
“Sitting on my hands is not an option. I have to do everything in my power to protect beef farmers
“If beef was excluded [from the deal] I’d be at the front of the queue clapping this agreement.”
Commissioner Hogan
When asked on his opinion on whether Commissioner for Agriculture and party colleague Phil Hogan should be re-endorsed as commissioner in the next European Commission, Minister Creed said he believed he should be.
He was also asked to comment on reports that some members of the Fine Gael party thought Commissioner Hogan had not done a good enough job for agriculture on the deal, but Minister Creed pointed out that the original negotiation stance had been to let 300,000t of beef access to the EU market.
He added that the deal was spearheaded by the European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström and not Phil Hogan.
If you would like to speak to a member of our team, please call us on 01-4199525.
Link sent to your email address
We have sent an email to your address. Please click on the link in this email to reset your password. If you can't find it in your inbox, please check your spam folder. If you can't find the email, please call us on 01-4199525.
ENTER YOUR LOYALTY CODE:
The reader loyalty code gives you full access to the site from when you enter it until the following Wednesday at 9pm. Find your unique code on the back page of Irish Country Living every week.
SHARING OPTIONS