I and my Department have been very active in highlighting the potentially very damaging impact of a Mercosur deal on the European and Irish beef sectors.
At political level, I have repeatedly raised the issue with Member State colleagues and with Commissioners Hogan and Malmström, both at AgriFish Council and in other forms. For example, after an intensive campaign led by myself and my French counterpart in early 2016, the European Commission did not include a tariff rate quota for beef in the exchange of offers with Mercosur in May.
Since that time, we have remained vigilant and have reminded the Commission at every opportunity of the need to closely consult Member States before negotiations are progressed, and to ensure that it takes account of both the findings of its own cumulative impact assessment of November 2016 and the new threat presented by the potential implications of Brexit for an already delicately balanced EU beef market.
France and Ireland have also been active most recently in working with nine other Member States on a joint paper that was submitted to the European Commission on 26 September outlining our shared concerns.
I have also written recently to Commissioner Malmstroem on the matter, and Minister of State, Deputy Andrew Doyle, raised the issue with a number of other Member States and with the Commission at the AgriFish Council in Luxembourg on 9 October. The Taoiseach also raised the matter directly with President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, at the recent European summit in Estonia recently.
These efforts have been reinforced at official level through similar contacts with Member States and the Commission, including through the Special Committee on Agriculture and the Trade Policy Committee, where Ireland has recently made strong interventions opposing the making of an offer on beef at this time.
I also continue to monitor the situation closely in co-operation with my Government colleagues, including the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, and the Taoiseach, and to mobilise support among like-minded Member States. .
A list of meetings at which I raised the question of Mercosur with European counterparts to date is outlined below, but of course these formal contacts are supplemented by ongoing contacts with other member states and the Commission at official level:
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Meeting Name
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Date
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Agri-Fish Council-Brussels
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18/07/2016
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Agri-Fish Council-Brussels
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14-15/11/2016
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Agri-Fish Council-Brussels
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23/01/2017
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Agri-Fish Council-Brussels
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12-13/06/2017
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Agri-Fish Council-Brussels
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17-18/07/2017
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Minister Creed meeting with French Agriculture Minister, Stephane Travert
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24/07/2017
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Agri-Fish Council-Brussels
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09/10/2017
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