Sinn Féin MEPs Lynn Boylan and Kathleen Funchion have criticised plans to conclude the Mercosur Agreement at a meeting of Civil Servant Representatives to the Council of the European Union, which will take place on Friday.
The Mercosur Agreement will be debated at the Coreper II meeting on Friday, and if a qualified majority of EU Member States approve signing the Agreement, it will then be formally decided by a written procedure without a debate by European leaders at the European Council.
Lynn Boylan MEP said:
“This move is the latest attempt to ram through the Mercosur Agreement with the least possible scrutiny. Mercosur is a rotten deal for people and the planet.
“The European Commission has repeatedly attempted to diminish and evade democratic oversight of the Agreement and this is their latest move to force Mercosur on the public.
“The Mercosur Agreement will lead to further deforestation of the Amazon, attacks on indigenous peoples and will create huge public health risks for the public in Europe.”
“We are calling on all Member States, and in particular Ireland, to oppose this deeply problematic trade deal and to remove the agenda item from the Coreper II meeting on Friday.”
Kathleen Funchion MEP said:
“This renewed attempt to force through Mercosur is another underhanded tactic by the Commission to ignore the interests of farmers and concerns of the public.
“We already know that this deal will bring about uncertainty and unfair competition for Irish farmers, particularly beef farmers, and nothing in that regard has changed since the deal was delayed last month.
“It is quite simple at this stage. This is a bad deal that will not be changing. The entire process of making this deal has been unprecedented and undemocratic.
“The Irish government must immediately make it clear whether they support Irish farmers and an open democratic process, or the backroom deals and self-interests that have led us to this point. We as MEPs will vote against the deal if and when it reaches the European Parliament.”
