There are “indications” a vote on whether the European Union will adopt or reject a controversial free trade deal with South American countries might be delayed until January, Minister of State for European affairs Thomas Byrne has said.
It is understood several European leaders discussed the Mercosur deal in Berlin on Monday night, on the margins of hastily organised talks debating US-led proposals for a peace deal in Ukraine.
Sources close to the negotiations described renewed efforts to strike a deal with Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni’s government, to secure Rome’s support for the Mercosur deal, meaning it could be agreed despite the objections of Paris, Dublin and some other capitals.
A decision on the Mercosur trade deal had been expected to be made this week, potentially by leaders of the 27 member states at an EU summit starting on Thursday.
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However, Mr Byrne said he did not feel that was likely to happen. “The indications that I have at the moment are that it may well be delayed until January,” Mr Byrne said.
Some EU officials still believe there is a chance of a breakthrough this week, if the Italian government comes down in favour of the proposed trade pact.
The deal, which follows 25 years of stop-start negotiations, would lower barriers to trade flowing between the European Union and Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.
Irish beef farmers staunchly oppose the deal, fearing cheaper imports of South American beef will undercut demand for Irish steaks and burgers elsewhere in Europe.
France’s shaky minority government is in the middle of politically delicate talks to agree a budget, making any U-turn to support the contentious trade deal difficult.
French prime minister Sébastien Lecornu recently asked Brussels to delay a decision on the Mercosur deal beyond a December 20th deadline.
The Irish Government has said it will work with like-minded countries to address concerns about the deal’s impact on beef farmers.
The trade deal needs the backing of a weighted majority of the EU’s 27 member states to be approved.
The votes of Italy and France, along with other sceptics – Poland, Hungary, Austria and Ireland – would be needed to kill the deal.
Officials in Brussels are putting significant effort into swinging Rome around to back the deal. Several diplomats and officials involved in the negotiations said the situation was incredibly fluid.
“At this point, I would expect that it will be delayed until January, but let’s see what the leaders discuss ... but it’s my expectation that there wouldn’t be a vote this week on Mercosur,” Mr Byrne said on Tuesday.
The Fianna Fáil junior minister said Ireland and other countries wanted further movement in the deal to respond to the concerns of beef farmers.
“If those concerns could be addressed, then you have a trade agreement which actually benefits many farmers in Ireland and benefits the wider economy,” he told reporters in Brussels.
The deal already includes safeguards that would be triggered in the event South American beef ends up flooding any part of the European market and causes a drop in prices. An emergency brake could be pulled to reimpose previous steep tariffs on South American imports and protect European producers.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm that negotiated the deal, has promised more checks would take place to make sure beef coming into Europe met food safety standards.
Germany, Sweden, Denmark and others supporting the deal are keen on the huge new market it would open up for European exporters.
Commission officials are concerned the Mercosur bloc might walk away from the proposed deal if momentum to get the agreement signed before the end of this year stalls.
