John Whelan: Fence-sitters like Ireland need to come to terms with benefits of Mercosur

Deal will give exporters from EU much-needed lift, says John Whelan

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen. The clock is ticking down to a tentative December 20 date for Ms Von der Leyen to fly to Brazil for a formal signing ceremony of Mercosur.
Picture: AP Photo/Pascal Bastien

Last month’s fresh pushback in the European Parliament despite the ‘safeguards’ designed to shield European farmers from a potential surge in imports from agricultural heavyweights Brazil and Argentina, has jeopardised the planned December signing of the mammoth EU-Mercosur trade agreement.

The pushback came amongst chaotic scenes in the EU Parliament from key national delegations, including Ireland, Poland, France, Bulgaria, Romania, and others, who rejected attempts to fast-track a vote to approve the ‘safeguards ‘.