Mullooly pushes legal challenge to Mercosur

Ciaran Mullooly MEP  attended and addressed the French, Italian, Polish, Romanian and Irish farmers’ “No to Mercosur” protest in Strasbourg yesterday (Tuesday), which was also attended by the President of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) and representatives of the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA), who were also present on behalf of Irish farmers.

In his address, Ciaran Mullooly stated that, "farmers across Europe are united in their opposition to this deal and must continue the fight to ensure that farmers’ voices are heard and listened to at Commission level." He warned, that the so-called safety clause and the Commission’s “magic money” proposals, which he described as an attempt to mislead farmers into believing they are protected, simply will not work.

Mullooly outlined that the basic facts are clear: "the Mercosur trade deal will do nothing of substance for the non-agricultural sector in Europe. The latest economic indicators show that projected economic growth for Europe would be less than 0.05%, rising to only 0.25% by 2040." By any reasonable assessment, he said, "this is insignificant when weighed against the severe damage the deal will inflict on the EU beef and poultry sectors."

Mr Mullooly then outlined the most recent evidence of public health risks, highlighting that the Irish Food Safety Authority has detected hormone-treated beef that was imported into Ireland in recent weeks, and consumed in, Ireland. He stated that, "if ever there were a compelling reason to stop this trade agreement, the public health of EU citizens must be the red line in any political discussion."

He noted that it has been many years since such a strong unity of purpose among European farmers, from Athlone to Athens, in their determination to scrap the Mercosur deal.

Farmers present at the protest called on their MEPs to support the demand for a legal review of the trade agreement, pointing to significant manoeuvring by the European Commission that may be in breach of EU treaties. Ciaran Mullooly stressed that respect for EU treaties is the bedrock of European democracy, and that adherence to these rules is essential.

He concluded by emphasising that food security in Europe is now more important than ever and expressed confidence that logic will prevail and that the European Parliament will seek legal clarity on the Mercosur agreement.