Speaking from Strasbourg last week, IFA president and COPA vice president Francie Gorman said the outcome in the European Parliament, which has referred the Mercosur trade deal to the European Court of Justice, lays down an important marker for how trade issues are negotiated.
“The referral was the right decision for this trade deal and future trade deals. Farm organisations across Europe, as part of COPA, lobbied morning, noon and night and it worked,” he said. “When we met our fellow EU farm leaders in Brussels last week, I knew that the vote would be close. This is a great result for the European umbrella farm group COPA COGECA,” he said.
“The ECJ will now test the deal and see if it stands up to scrutiny. For this, and for future trade deals, it is important that the legality is established before any further steps. The EU Commission has been too hasty in trying to push this through,” he said. The IFA President acknowledged those MEPs who voted, by a margin of 10, for the referral. “I also want to acknowledge the farmers who attended the COPA protest in Brussels in December and the Athlone protest 10 days ago.
“We also had a show of strength in Strasbourg this week as thousands of farmers descended for the meeting of the European Parliament.”
Francie Gorman said this is just the latest step in what has been a decades-long campaign.
“IFA will continue to work with our colleagues across Europe to have this deal set aside.”
