As the Mercosur trade talks enter a crucial phase, a bigger beef quota offer is being sought from the EU for this weeks’ round of negotiations. This is on top of the 70,000t already offered by the EU in the previous round.

Trade discussions are on the agenda of today’s European Council meeting of agriculture and fisheries ministers in Brussels, where Minister Creed will be in attendance.

Last round of Roundup?

The Council will also consider the sustainable use of pesticides, currently a topical issue among farmers given the issue of extending the use of glyphosate – better known as Roundup.

There is a strong campaign by environmental-based NGOs to have it banned in the EU, something that would put EU farmers at further disadvantage with global competitors.

EU trade talks

The Council is also expected to give the go-ahead to open trade talks with Australia and New Zealand, where any further access for beef or sheep meat would put more pressure on Irish and EU farmers.

Access to the EU for third countries is further complicated by the objections raised at WTO around the EU – UK allocation of existing import quotas post Brexit.

Brexit

Brexit may have slipped out of the headlines in the UK – with harassment issues dominating the Westminster agenda over the past week – but a further round of Brexit negotiations will be held in Brussels on Thursday and Friday of this week.

This will be the sixth attempt at moving negotiations onto a point where the December meeting of the European Council heads of state will give the go-ahead to move negotiations to the next phase – a future trading relationship.

The Irish Farmers Journal will be reporting from Brussels on all these issues online and in print in this Thursday’s edition of the paper.

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