This is a subscriber-only article
No extra light has been thrown on the conflict of information from the European Commission over beef and the Mercosur trade deal.
In May, EU Commissioner for Agriculture Phil Hogan assured farmers that a 78,000t tariff-rate quota for beef into Europe would not be included as part of the EU's first offer in its trade negotiations with the South American trading bloc known as Mercosur.
However, hopes that beef would stay off the table in the talks have been quashed this week after EU Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström said: “It is unrealistic to expect Mercosur to conclude negotiations with the EU without obtaining any improvement in their access to the EU market for beef.”
In light of this statement, Independent MEP Luke Ming Flanagan attempted to find out which Commissioner is correct on the matter of Mercosur at Thursday's meeting of the European parliament agriculture committee.
"Is Malmström or Hogan right? Is beef on or off the menu?" asked the MEP.
A British MEP subsequently suggested that perhaps the reason why Commissioner Hogan told farmers in May that beef was off the menu was because he was trying to secure the vote of British MEPs before Britain took a vote on whether to leave the EU.
"Now the Brexit vote has passed, it seems to be business as usual," he said.
I don't know what Commissioner Hogan and Commissioner Malmström have decided in this moment
The representative from the European Commission to whom Ming Flanagan addressed his question was unable to respond to the query.
"I don't know what Commissioner Hogan and Commissioner Malmström have decided in this moment," he told the MEP.
It was confirmed at the meeting, however, that the agriculture committee is due to meet Commissioner Hogan and Commissioner Malmström in November.
Report on EU's external actions and CAP
The meeting also heard from Professor Alan Swinbank, School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading, UK, who presented some of the findings in his report, The Interactions Between the EU's External Action and the Common Agricultural Policy.
In the course of his presentation, Prof Swinbank touched on the difficulties faced by Europe as part of its strategy in exporting agricultural products to third country markets.
Referring to Turkey and its sporadic political upheavals, he said: "If Europe is relying upon exporting to difficult markets, those markets may be closed from time to time."
The Irish livestock industry stands to face rather disruptive times as a result of Brexit
The report adds that Turkish accession would add considerably to Europe's agricultural area and workforce.
"Although Turkish membership in the near future looks highly unlikely, as it would require the approval of all member states and of the European Parliament, rapidly moving political events on the EU’s eastern or southern flanks could potentially catapult Turkey into early membership, or prompt the EU to adopt significant changes to the existing customs union agreement," it says.
Brexit
On Brexit, Prof Swinbank said he does not believe that Britain's decision to leave the EU will have the same impact on European agriculture that the Russian ban has had.
However, he added that the Irish livestock industry is facing into difficult times as a result.
"Having said that, the Irish livestock industry stands to face rather disruptive times as a result of Brexit," he said, adding that the border between the Republic and Northern Ireland is one of the crucial issues to address.
He also said that Britain's exit from the EU is likely to result in "a tighter budget for CAP negotiations post-2020" unless the UK can be persuaded to pay a sizeable fee of comparable magnitude to secure access to the single market, as do members of the European Economic Area.
Before concluding, Prof Swinbank referred briefly to Flanagan's question on beef in the Mercosur deal, saying that there was "never any way beef could be off the agenda if there was going to be a serious discussion about Mercosur".
He added that the threat to European farmers does not stem from just one trade agreement but a succession of them, hinting at deals such as TTIP and CETA.
"A succession of trade agreements will have a much more important impact," he said.
SHARING OPTIONS: