Sinn Féin MEP’s Kathleen Funchion and Lynn Boylan have branded the Bilateral Safeguard Procedure for Mercosur as “weak and insufficient”.
The Safeguard Procedure aims to protect farmers financially from the implications of a large influx of Mercosur agricultural products including beef. However, it is unlikely the safeguards will be able to protect farmers, whilst the procedure also ignores the many other problems with the deal.
Speaking from Strasbourg, MEP Funchion said:
“This piece of legislation, put forward wholly to buy over support for the Mercosur agreement ahead of the vote in the European Council, is far too weak to meaningfully protect farmers from the impact of the agreement.
“The safeguards are temporary and require proof that Mercosur produce, rather than other imports, has caused a market shift.
“They will also only kick in after the damage has been done, with the approval of the EU.
“For all these reasons this is not strong enough to protect farmers from the impact of Mercosur imports on agriculture.
“Irish people have seen how so-called safeguards can easily be dropped or outvoted following the betrayal of the fishing community and loss of the Hague Preference.
“The only way to protect farmers’ interests is to vote against the Mercosur deal.”
Also speaking from Strasbourg, MEP Boylan said:
“The Mercosur Bilateral Safeguard does nothing to protect our public health or our planet.
“It is window dressing to try and ram through a rotten trade deal. Citizens across Europe have made it clear that they oppose this deal.
“Member States need to vote down this rotten trade deal at Council and MEPs need to commit to voting it down in Parliament.
“Anything less is a betrayal of our farmers, our citizens and our planet.”
