The decision by the EU Commission to provisionally apply the Mercosur trade deal fails to respect the recent European Parliament vote to refer the deal, IFA president Francie Gorman has said.
“It’s somewhat ironic that the Commission president is so keen to drive on in the same week that their latest audit in Brazil shows the controls are not in place. Despite what the EU Commission has frequently said, the Brazilian authorities have not managed to get their house in order," Gorman said.
The IFA president said President Ursula von der Leyen references how this will be a good deal, but this is not the view of farmers.
“We have opposed Mercosur for over two decades. The issue we had with the deal then, particularly around traceability and lack of standards, has not gone away," he said.
President von der Leyen may say this is provisional, but the fact remains that it still has to be ratified by the European Parliament, Gorman added.
Sinn Féin
Meanwhile, Sinn Féin described the move to provisionally apply Mercosur as “undemocratic and dangerous”.
Sinn Féin MEPs Lynn Boylan and Kathleen Funchion have strongly criticised the decision of the European Commission to provisionally apply the Mercosur Agreement.
On 21 January, the European Parliament voted to refer Mercosur to the Court of Justice of the European Union, due to concerns regarding the splitting of the agreement and its compliance with EU climate law.
“This is a shameful and undemocratic decision by Ursula von der Leyen and the European Commission. The European Parliament has made clear that we are not satisfied about the legality of the agreement," MEP Boylan said.
Mercosur, she said, is a rotten deal for people and planet, adding that our farmers and our environment will pay a high price and this has been ignored by the Commission.
MEP Funchion added that the decision today by the Commission flies in the face of genuine cooperation and democratic oversight of the EU.
Concerns
“The Commission has given repeated promises that they would not implement provisional application without the European Parliament giving consent for the deal.
“Their determination to force through this deal despite the concerns of many throughout Europe is once again clear.
“Von der Leyen has for a long time put the interests of large industrial companies ahead of family farms, the environment, and public health, and now she is putting their interests ahead of the democratic processes that govern the EU," she said.
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European Commission agrees provisional implementation of Mercosur deal
The decision by the EU Commission to provisionally apply the Mercosur trade deal fails to respect the recent European Parliament vote to refer the deal, IFA president Francie Gorman has said.
“It’s somewhat ironic that the Commission president is so keen to drive on in the same week that their latest audit in Brazil shows the controls are not in place. Despite what the EU Commission has frequently said, the Brazilian authorities have not managed to get their house in order," Gorman said.
The IFA president said President Ursula von der Leyen references how this will be a good deal, but this is not the view of farmers.
“We have opposed Mercosur for over two decades. The issue we had with the deal then, particularly around traceability and lack of standards, has not gone away," he said.
President von der Leyen may say this is provisional, but the fact remains that it still has to be ratified by the European Parliament, Gorman added.
Sinn Féin
Meanwhile, Sinn Féin described the move to provisionally apply Mercosur as “undemocratic and dangerous”.
Sinn Féin MEPs Lynn Boylan and Kathleen Funchion have strongly criticised the decision of the European Commission to provisionally apply the Mercosur Agreement.
On 21 January, the European Parliament voted to refer Mercosur to the Court of Justice of the European Union, due to concerns regarding the splitting of the agreement and its compliance with EU climate law.
“This is a shameful and undemocratic decision by Ursula von der Leyen and the European Commission. The European Parliament has made clear that we are not satisfied about the legality of the agreement," MEP Boylan said.
Mercosur, she said, is a rotten deal for people and planet, adding that our farmers and our environment will pay a high price and this has been ignored by the Commission.
MEP Funchion added that the decision today by the Commission flies in the face of genuine cooperation and democratic oversight of the EU.
Concerns
“The Commission has given repeated promises that they would not implement provisional application without the European Parliament giving consent for the deal.
“Their determination to force through this deal despite the concerns of many throughout Europe is once again clear.
“Von der Leyen has for a long time put the interests of large industrial companies ahead of family farms, the environment, and public health, and now she is putting their interests ahead of the democratic processes that govern the EU," she said.
Read more
European Commission agrees provisional implementation of Mercosur deal
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