The European Parliament has caved into the European Council and European Commission on Wednesday evening and has agreed on weaker safeguard clauses to be included in the controversial Mercosur trade deal.
The European Parliament's committee on international trade had proposed that the Commission should launch an investigation into the need for protection measures when imports of sensitive agricultural products increase by an average of 5% over a three-year period (compared with 10% per year in the Commission proposal).
It also wanted speedier investigations (from six to three months generally and from four to two months in case of sensitive products) so that safeguards can be introduced faster
What is actually included:
An increase in import volume of more than 8% compared with the three-year average would be evidence of serious injury and would trigger an investigation into suspending preferential tariffs.A decrease in prices of more than 8% compared with the three-year average would also be treated as serious injury and give reason to start an investigation.Investigations should be concluded within at least six months in the case of non-sensitive products and as quickly as possible but certainly after three months in the case of sensitive products.Lynn Boylan, Nina Carberry and Barry Cowen are all members of the European Parliament's committee on international trade.
The much talked-about mirror clauses which would have made Brazil adhere to European production standards also failed to make it into the final agreement.
The Parliament had adopted an amendment which includes a reciprocity mechanism, whereby the Commission would initiate an investigation and adopt safeguard measures where there is credible evidence that imports benefiting from tariff preferences did not meet equivalent environmental, animal welfare, health, food safety, or labour protection requirements applicable to producers in the EU.
These proposals have been rejected by the Council and Commission and are not now part of the agreement.
Instead, the European Commission will issue a statement ensuring stronger alignment of production standards applied to imported products, notably on animal welfare and pesticides from Mercosur countries.
Next stage
The next stage is that the European Council of Ministers could vote on the agreement on Friday, but it's not yet clear that this vote will take place, in light of the opposition from a number of EU countries.
Italy and France have already called for a delay in the vote and Wednesday night's failure to get the fully amended safeguards into the agreement will do little to instill confidence in both countries that enough has been done to protect European farmers.
The news comes as thousands of European farmers descend on Brussels for a day of protest on Thursday. Farmers are protesting about the CAP budget, Mercosur and red tape in farming.
Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal from France, IFA president Francie Gorman, who is on route with his son Tom on a tractor to the Brussels protest, said: “The reported outcome of the trilogue talks on the Mercosur trade agreement this evening suggest that the Commission and the Council have treated the proposals from the Parliament with contempt.”
The European Parliament has caved into the European Council and European Commission on Wednesday evening and has agreed on weaker safeguard clauses to be included in the controversial Mercosur trade deal.
The European Parliament's committee on international trade had proposed that the Commission should launch an investigation into the need for protection measures when imports of sensitive agricultural products increase by an average of 5% over a three-year period (compared with 10% per year in the Commission proposal).
It also wanted speedier investigations (from six to three months generally and from four to two months in case of sensitive products) so that safeguards can be introduced faster
What is actually included:
An increase in import volume of more than 8% compared with the three-year average would be evidence of serious injury and would trigger an investigation into suspending preferential tariffs.A decrease in prices of more than 8% compared with the three-year average would also be treated as serious injury and give reason to start an investigation.Investigations should be concluded within at least six months in the case of non-sensitive products and as quickly as possible but certainly after three months in the case of sensitive products.Lynn Boylan, Nina Carberry and Barry Cowen are all members of the European Parliament's committee on international trade.
The much talked-about mirror clauses which would have made Brazil adhere to European production standards also failed to make it into the final agreement.
The Parliament had adopted an amendment which includes a reciprocity mechanism, whereby the Commission would initiate an investigation and adopt safeguard measures where there is credible evidence that imports benefiting from tariff preferences did not meet equivalent environmental, animal welfare, health, food safety, or labour protection requirements applicable to producers in the EU.
These proposals have been rejected by the Council and Commission and are not now part of the agreement.
Instead, the European Commission will issue a statement ensuring stronger alignment of production standards applied to imported products, notably on animal welfare and pesticides from Mercosur countries.
Next stage
The next stage is that the European Council of Ministers could vote on the agreement on Friday, but it's not yet clear that this vote will take place, in light of the opposition from a number of EU countries.
Italy and France have already called for a delay in the vote and Wednesday night's failure to get the fully amended safeguards into the agreement will do little to instill confidence in both countries that enough has been done to protect European farmers.
The news comes as thousands of European farmers descend on Brussels for a day of protest on Thursday. Farmers are protesting about the CAP budget, Mercosur and red tape in farming.
Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal from France, IFA president Francie Gorman, who is on route with his son Tom on a tractor to the Brussels protest, said: “The reported outcome of the trilogue talks on the Mercosur trade agreement this evening suggest that the Commission and the Council have treated the proposals from the Parliament with contempt.”
SHARING OPTIONS