Farmers seek to ‘rein in’ trade plans

THE Irish Farmers’ Association yesterday urged European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso to “rein in” what it described as Peter Mandelson’s destructive proposals relating to agriculture at the world trade talks.

The call, also directed to the Taoiseach, followed a tense meeting in Brussels between Agriculture Minister Mary Coughlan and Mr Mandelson, who heads EU’s negotiating team.

IFA president Padraig Walshe said Ms Coughlan failed to secure any commitments from Mr Mandelson, but she was forthright in stating there were no gains for Ireland in the proposals.

Ms Coughlan told the commissioner that Ireland is deeply concerned at the imbalance in negotiations.

“As things stand, we see that European Union and Irish agriculture are being asked to carry a disproportionate burden in the overall effort to conclude a deal,” she said.

The minister said there was nothing for Ireland, for its farmers, industry or services in the deal. “I made it clear that I felt we must not allow ourselves to be bounced into a bad deal now, merely to fit in with the US electoral timetable.”

Mr Mandelson said the commission will continue to reject extreme agricultural demands from some of its trading partners. “There is no question of abandoning European or Irish farming in the course of these negotiations,” he said.

Fine Gael’s agriculture spokesman, Michael Creed, said Mr Mandelson’s statement indicated he was not for turning and the minister’s intervention had been “too little, too late. At this stage, Ireland’s veto is our trump card and what is not clear from the minister’s statement is her willingness or otherwise to play it”.

Colm Markey, spokesman for the Irish Alliance for Europe, said the proposals will sound the death knell of rural Ireland as they represent a grave threat to farming and the food industry.