LAST UPDATE | 9 Jan

EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT Ursula von der Leyen has hailed the passing of the EU-Mercosur trade deal, describing it as the creation of the “largest free trade zone” in the world.

Von der Leyen said it sends a strong signal that Europe is able to “diversify our trade and reduce our dependencies” in the face of an “increasingly hostile and transactional world”, in a thinly veiled message to the White House.

“Our message to the world is this: Partnership creates prosperity and openness drives progress,” the EU chief said.

EU countries greenlit the Mercosur trade deal despite Ireland and France being among the countries to oppose it.

Member state representatives at EU Council level have been meeting at an ambassadors’ meeting in Brussels today and a majority of the European Union’s 27 nations voted in favour of the pact.

RTÉ is reporting that Ireland, France, Poland, Austria and Hungary opposed the deal and Belgium abstained, while the remaining 21 states approved it.

The EU-Mercosur agreement is a wide-ranging trade deal between the European Union and the South American trade bloc Mercosur, whose founding members are Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.

The deal would help the European Union export more vehicles, machinery, wines and spirits to Latin America and in return it would facilitate the entry into Europe of South American meat, sugar, rice, honey and soybeans.

This has alarmed many European farmers , including in Ireland, who fear they will be undercut by a flow of cheaper goods from agricultural giant Brazil and its neighbours.

It is this opposition that led to the Irish government opposing the deal, with the government saying yesterday that Ireland does not find the additional measures “sufficient to satisfy our citizens”.

Following today’s approval, the agreement cannot enter into force without the consent of the European Parliament, which is due to vote in two weeks’ time in Strasbourg. 

Reaction

Following the approval, there has been reaction from both sides of the argument, with Sinn Féin calling it “a devastating outcome for Irish farmers”. 

“We know this is a bad deal for Irish farming, public health, and the environment. It contradicts so many other policy objectives, not least among them food security, protecting farm incomes, and supporting farm succession,” said MEP Kathleen Funchion. 

Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman expressed “dismay” at the deal being greenlit. 

“The Mercosur Trade Agreement is not fair. It’s not fair to Irish farmers, who have to compete with food raised to much lower welfare standards. It’s not fair to Irish consumers, who will be exposed to beef reared using excessive hormones and pesticides. And it’s not fair to the environment across South America, as it will encourage further deforestation,” he said. 

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However, Head of the European Commission Representation in Ireland Peter Power was critical of the Irish government’s vote against the deal. 

“Beef farmers have had legitimate concerns, but these concerns have been taken on board. These concerns have been addressed,” he told EU News Radio.

“We’ve introduced safeguard measures. We’ve introduced increased controls in terms of the points of entry into the European Union. We’ve introduced increased controls in terms of spot checks on the abattoirs, etc, that export beef to the European Union.”

He added: “We have given cast iron guarantees that these controls and checks will be increased, that the consumer will be absolutely safe in terms of what he or she will actually buy in the supermarket. Beef will be labeled as coming from Brazil or wherever it comes from, so there’s no question of the consumer being unaware.” 

Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) President Francie Gorman said the outcome of today’s meeting is “very disappointing” and shows that the Irish Government “was not alone in expressing deep reservations about the deal and what it means for farmers and public health”. 

Gorman said ahead of the vote in the European Parliament in the coming weeks., “our campaign will now focus on MEPs”.

“We expect Irish MEPs to stand behind the farming community and reject the Mercosur deal. Our MEPs now have a crucial role to play n building alliances within their groupings and amongst colleagues from other countries to build opposition to the deal.”

© AFP 2026