The Republic will seek to block the Mercosur trade deal by building alliances with other European Union countries opposed to the agreement, which would see higher levels of agricultural imports from South America, but there are fears that the deal will eventually be accepted by the EU through majority voting.
At the moment, the Government believes there is a blocking minority against the deal in the EU.
However, senior sources acknowledged there will be severe pressure from the European Commission (EC) and from countries in favour of the deal in the coming months.
One senior official said it was uncertain whether the blocking minority would last in the face of pressure from the EC.
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“It remains to be seen how unwavering the other minority bloc countries will be over the coming weeks and few months,” the official said.
[ Emergency brake proposed to guard against EU-Mercosur deal harming Irish farmersOpens in new window ]
So while it is committed to resisting the agreement, the Irish Government is also likely to seek to strengthen safeguards in the new deal which are intended to protect European farmers – even while it seeks to build alliances against the deal.
Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon is likely to meet ministers from other anti-Mercosur countries at a Council of Ministers meeting in Denmark next week.
Both Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris reiterated their opposition to the deal yesterday, though both added they would now study the new agreement, and in particular the safeguards proposed by the EC.
The EC has set out new measures to safeguard European farmers in a bid to alleviate concerns over the deal.
The Taoiseach said: “We have very significant concerns... primarily the climate dimension. Our farmers have been asked to adhere to very significant standards in terms of emissions.
“We have to study the agreement now in greater detail. Obviously the trading environment is different now because of the tariffs which have been imposed by the United States, and now Europe is anxious to open up new trading agreements with other blocs... Obviously in a small open economy, trade is good for Ireland.”
The Tánaiste said the commitment to oppose the Mercosur deal in the Programme for Government was “very clear” and remained unchanged.
He added: “There’s a way to go here. The Government’s position hasn’t changed, but I think the prudent and responsible thing is to consider the text that has just been published today.”
The proposed trade deal between the EU and Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay was tabled for approval by the EC on Wednesday, setting off what will be months of fractious debate among the 27 EU capitals about whether to back the agreement.
Irish farmers are strongly opposed to the deal, fearing an influx of cheap beef from South America, while Chambers Ireland, the umbrella group for chambers of commerce, urged the Government to back the agreement.
