Laois welcome for MEP vote on Mercosur's legality

Laois Independent Laois TD Brian Stanley welcomed the vote by MEPs to refer the European Union's free trade agreement with South America to the European Court of Justice.

The move comes in the wake of the European Commission's head Urusla Von der Leyen, signing the largest-ever trade ⁠pact with Mercosur members Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay ⁠and Uruguay on Saturday, January 17.

“The vote in the European Parliament to refer the Mercosur deal to the European Court is a positive move. This shows that the decision by Ursula Von der Leyen to travel to Latin America to sign the deal was completely wrong," he said.

Speaking in the Dáil on Mercosur, the Portlaoise-based TD outlined why he supports farmers in Laois and other parts of Ireland in calling for the deal to be rejected.

“When we joined the EU Single Market back in 1973, there was supposed to be free trade, but also fair trade, between the States of Europe, and all Treaties since underlined that. The Single Market was sold as a level playing pitch with standards harmonised.

"However, with substandard products coming in from outside, it is not harmonised. The Mercosur deal completely undermines it. Farmers are having to compete with food produced to lower standards from other countries. The importation of 99,000 tonnes of beef and 180,000 tonnes of chicken, produced at lower environmental and animal health standards, will cause market distortion. We all know what that means," said Dep Stanley. MORE BELOW PHOTO.

ICSA at Strasbourg Protest with Ciaran Mullooly.

He said Irish farmers produce meat under strict rules of tag and trace and must have prescriptions for what they give to cattle while the same does not apply in South America. He labelled this a 'double standard'.

"The revelations recently that Brazilian beef with banned hormones entered the Irish food chain are now being investigated by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland. That should set off alarm bells," he said.

He concluded by highlighting the environmental cost.

He asked: "What justification is there for further destruction of the rainforest and the carbon footprint required to haul food halfway across the world to get it here when we are already producing loads of it?"

READ ALSO: Laois leader of Ireland's farmers insists Mercosur fight isn't over

He concluded by saying that the Government needs to get its act together and ensure that all Government MEPs vote against the Mercosur deal when it comes to the European Parliament.

He said that if the deal is ultimately passed at the European Parliament, the Government needs to act to prevent substandard beef and poultry from entering the Irish market.

The Laois TD called on the Department of Enterprise and Trade to insist on clear labelling of beef and poultry produce so that shoppers can see exactly what the country of origin is.