Fianna Fáil MEP for the Midlands North-West Barry Cowen has tabled two amendments designed to strengthen Mercosur safeguards should the agreement advance.

The proposals are already attracting broad cross-party interest, including from Fine Gael MEP Nina Carberry, who is also a member of international trade committee (INTA) and will co-sign.

Cowen has said that the amendments would dramatically improve the clarity, enforceability and responsiveness of the protections available to Irish and EU farmers.

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The move follows the withdrawal earlier this week of the European Parliamentary Party's (EPP) request for an urgent procedure on the file.

This withdrawal has been viewed as an acknowledgement that there was insufficient support to rush the safeguards through without proper scrutiny.

The regulation will undergo full examination in both the INTA and agriculture (AGRI) committees. MEP Cowen sits on both, ensuring Ireland has a central and influential role as the text is reshaped.

Amendment

The Fianna Fáil MEP’s most consequential amendment confirms that the Commission must not be bound to rigid 10% thresholds when determining “injury to the sector”.

Sustained price deterioration, market instability or evidence of harm at EU or national level must be sufficient grounds to initiate an investigation.

This reflects direct assurances given to the MEP by senior DG AGRI officials earlier this month and responds to the information provided by Commissioner Šefcovic at his recent Oireachtas appearance.

His second amendment increases the frequency of Commission monitoring reports from every six months to every three, significantly tightening market surveillance

“The withdrawal of the urgent procedure earlier this week was essential. Parliament must be able to strengthen this safeguard regulation properly, not wave it through in a matter of days. These amendments are a direct contribution to that work and reflect the concerns farmers have raised with me repeatedly," Cowen has said.

"For beef and other sensitive sectors, increased transparency matters. It means up-to-date information, clearer oversight and proper reporting on enhanced border checks – both at EU level and in individual member states," he said.

Other change

Meanwhile, the other change sets out in "black and white" that the Commission cannot hide behind the 10% thresholds, Cowen said.

"They were never meant to be rigid. If there is sustained pressure on prices, if there are signs of deterioration in the economic situation of the industry, that must be enough to trigger an investigation.

"This is exactly what DG AGRI officials confirmed to me earlier this month, but it was not reflected clearly in the text before us. Farmers need certainty and this amendment provides it," he said.

Cowen said that although he would vote against Mercosur, his mandate if it is enacted is to secure the strongest possible compensatory package for Irish farmers – one that is credible, enforceable and based on real market conditions.