Longford MEP Mullooly says he has French Prime Minister’s support in Mercosur resistance

During a visit to Paris, MEP Ciaran Mullooly met with French Prime Minister François Bayrou and Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot in recent days, where he outlined his strong opposition to the Mercosur deal.

Following the talks, he welcomed the clear commitment from France to oppose the agreement both in the European Parliament and at the forthcoming EU Council of Trade Ministers meeting in September.

Mr Mullooly commented that, “The French Prime Minister François Bayrou has told me the French are not softening their opposition to Mercosur, despite claims to the contrary.

"Bayrou’s Government is under pressure in France not just from farmers but I met with him and his Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Noël Barrot in Paris last night and we discussed the sort of damage this rotten trade deal will do to the beef and white meat sector."

Mr Mullooly also said that he, "asked Bayrou to hold out and back up the Irish farmers in the next six months while his caretaker government will be in place and [he] asked him to make greater efforts to move the Italian Government to support us".

The Lanesboro native said Mr Bayrou said "he fully understands the deep concerns over the lack of traceability in beef coming out of Brazil and Barrot talks of the need for a new and more powerful EU inspection regime", which he agrees with.

”France has also been to the forefront in calling for so-called “mirror clauses” in EU trade policy, rules that would require imported products to meet the same environmental, food safety and animal-welfare standards as those applied to European farmers.

Commenting on this, the Independent Ireland MEP said, "It is clear that Brazil is not currently meeting these conditions."

Mr Mullooly also underlined that the Irish Government’s official position must be of total rejection of the deal.

“This opposition is hardwired into the current Programme for Government. It represents a cast-iron commitment by Ireland to reject Mercosur outright," he added.

Mr Mullooly also welcomed the work of Agriculture Minister Martin Heydon in building a wider coalition of like-minded EU countries to coordinate a united front against Mercosur.

Looking ahead to the next stage of the battle in Brussels, Mr. Mullooly made clear he is determined to continue building opposition to the agreement.

“Some of my fellow MEPs in Brussels insist on saying this battle on Mercosur is over , but I will never give up and will meet more MEPs who have previously abstained on the issue when I go to the European Parliament plenary session in Strasbourg on Monday.”

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