Up to 10,000 expected at 'No to Mercosur' protest in Athlone on Saturday

Ottoline Spearman

A protest against the EU-Mercosur deal will take place this Saturday in Athlone, after an EU vote on the deal on Friday.

Up to 10,000 people are expected to attend the event, which will include a tractor and vehicle cavalcade around the town. All 14 Irish MEPs have been formally invited.

The EU-Mercosur deal has been more than 25 years in the making, and would lower trade barriers between the EU and Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay, opening up large markets on both sides.

On Friday, the EU’s 27 member states will vote in Brussels on whether to back or reject the Mercosur trade agreement, which, according to the Irish Times, is leaning in the direction of being approved.

Mercosur - which stands for Mercado Común del Sur (common market of the south) - is a South American trade bloc established to provide free trade, or a common market, among some South American nations.

Irish beef farmers oppose the EU-Mercosur deal because they fear being undercut by cheaper South American beef.

President of the Irish Farmers Association Francie Gorman said: "This deal is bad for Irish farmers and very damaging for public health, based on the findings of the IFA/Farmers Journal investigation two months ago and the recent Brazilian beef recall due to the presence of hormones. The Government cannot countenance any position that would offer any sign of support for this deal.”

The IFA–Farmers Journal investigation found evidence of significant differences in animal health and traceability standards between EU producers and some Mercosur countries, reigniting concerns among farming groups about the robustness of food safety controls on imported meat and the enforcement of bans on growth hormones in beef production.

MEP Ciaran Mullooly said the upcoming vote represents one of the most significant trade decisions facing Irish representatives in recent years, with far-reaching implications for Irish agriculture, food standards and rural communities.

Mr Mullooly warned that unresolved questions remain about how the European Commission intends to protect European consumers from hormone-treated beef and the widespread misuse of antibiotics across Mercosur countries.

But even if EU members vote on Friday in favour of the deal, it cannot enter into force without the approval of the European Parliament. This vote will take place in two weeks’ time in Strasbourg.

Speaking about the vote in Strasbourg, Mr Mullooly said: “This is not a procedural formality. Parliament’s decision will determine whether the agreement becomes law.”

“Mercosur is not an abstract trade debate. It raises real questions about fairness, standards and the future of Irish farming. Those concerns should be heard and considered before Parliament is asked to decide.”

Ireland has been among a group of EU countries opposing the deal, and the programme for government commits the Coalition to work with like-minded countries to oppose the deal, according to the Irish Times.

But Government sources have told the Irish Times that Italy's vote is the crucial vote that the deal hinges on.

Ireland is therefore also wary of burning political capital in Brussels with a vote that would be purely symbolic.

Independents in the Government say they want Ireland to vote against the deal, with Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine Michael Healy-Rae saying on Tuesday they are “resolute in our strong opposition to any talk or any such thing as voting for it”.

Minister for Agriculture Martin Hayden also travelled to Rome on Tuesday for discussions with his Italian counterpart ahead of Friday's vote.

On Wednesday, the Taoiseach indicated that “a lot of progress has been made”, with the Government expected to make a decision on the deal “towards the end of the week”. Mr Martin made the comments while on a diplomatic visit to China, the Irish Times reported.

The protest on Saturday will include a tractor and vehicle cavalcade around the town, crossing the River Shannon and ending in a rally at the Technological University of The Shannon.

The protest will be attended by the Irish Farmer's Association, Sinn Féin, and various farming organisations, among others.