Phil Hogan, the EU Commissioner for Agriculture, has warned that there is a lost of misinformation and misplaced facts in relation to the latest EU-Mercosur agreement.
As reported by the Irish Independent, Commissioner Hogan was speaking at the EU Ministers of Agriculture and Fisheries meeting in Brussels yesterday.
Ring Fenced Products
Hogan said that the negotiations were difficult, but the EU secured ‘ring-fenced sensitive products’ such as beef, settling on quotes rather than full liberalisation.
He added that the current deal is much better than the one on the table some 15 years ago, suggesting even that Irish farmers should understand this fact.
"I hope our farmers and ministers will read this document more carefully,” he said, hoping to see a balanced outcome in the context of long and protracted negotiations which saw significant gains on the industrial side.
"No product will arrive from Mercosur countries without complying with existing EU food safety standards," he said and that the EU can decide what slaughterhouses in the Mercosur countries can export to the EU.
He also reminded farmers that Mercosur countries are tied into the Paris climate agreement or the deal falls.
© 2019 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Aidan O’Sullivan. Click sign-up to subscribe to Checkout.
