LUKE ‘MING’ FLANAGAN has questioned the proposed Mercosur trade deal with Latin American nations, saying that “trust has been damaged” in European institutions and its ability to manage trade partnerships arising from the war in Gaza.

The Roscommon-based MEP said any mooted safeguards to suspend trade if it results in a negative impact on certain sectors cannot be taken seriously when the EU has not done likewise despite a “genocide going on at the moment with one of our trading partners”, referring to Israel’s war in Gaza.

Last week, the EU reached a free trade deal with Latin American countries – including Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay – but there has been significant opposition from a number of European countries.

The deal, which has been fiercely opposed by farmers in particular, still needs to be signed off on by EU member states.

Speaking at a EU committee meeting to probe the Mercosur deal, for which he is the vice-chair, Flanagan said his skepticism of EU institutions had been softened over his decade as an MEP – but he claimed that unease was back in force for the Mercosur deal.

“It was said that if this agreement is injurious, we can do something to suspend it,” Flanagan told the committee.

“Now let’s be honest. We have a genocide going on at the moment with one of our trading partners, where children are being used as target practice and that hasn’t been suspended.

So how on earth can we have faith that the European Commission, where they don’t seem to give a damn about children being shot, are going to give a damn about farmers who will be seriously injured by this.

“A partnership is dependent on trust. It’s dependent on knowing what’s going on,” the Midlands–North-West MEP said.

“And I have to say, as someone who got elected here as a skeptic, my skepticism was bet back by my dealings with the Commission and the agri committee over the last 10 years, but I have to say, in the last couple of weeks, you brought that skepticism back.”

Flanaghan, who is the vice-chair of the committee examining the Mercusur deal, said it was “disappointing and disrespectful” to the agriculture committee that the head of the trade department in the EU did not come to their last meeting.

“How does that build trust? It’s also worrying that for the last 10 years on the agri committee, pretty much every member was against the Mercosur agreement,” Flanagan said.

At today's Mercosur Delegation meeting I outlined my objection to the proposed trade agreement. Relationship are based on trust not on opaque back room deals. pic.twitter.com/AbB0lgZNx8

— Luke 'Ming' Flanagan (@lukeming) December 9, 2024

He further questioned how the agreement, which involves significant beef imports, can be effective for European farmers.

“How does it reduce strategic dependencies on Europe, if we start producing less beef and import it also,” he asked.

The Mercosur bloc consists of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay and the EU reached a free trade deal with those states last Friday.

Ireland’s agriculture minister Charlie McConalogue has said the government will seek to ensure that safeguards are enshrined in the trade deal.

European farmers, who demonstrated yesterday in Brussels against the deal, say they will face unfair competition from their Latin American peers.

The pact still needs to be approved by at least 15 of the European Union’s 27 member nations representing 65 percent of the EU population, and by the European Parliament.