Politics

EU ‘100% correct’ to seek better environmental protections in Mercosur trade deal, says Ryan in Brazil

France and Ireland are among member states opposed to agreement in its current form

Minister for Climate Eamon Ryan said it was 'not impossible' to bridge the gap between the EU and Mercosur, with talks currently stalled ahead of elections for a new European Parliament. Photograph: Damien Storan/PA Wire
Minister for Climate Eamon Ryan said it was 'not impossible' to bridge the gap between the EU and Mercosur, with talks currently stalled ahead of elections for a new European Parliament. Photograph: Damien Storan/PA Wire
Tom Hennigan in São Paolo
Sat Mar 16 2024 - 21:47

Minister for Climate Eamon Ryan has defended calls from several European Union member states to renegotiate a trade deal with the Mercosur trade bloc of South American nations in order to strengthen environmental protections.

The Green Party leader, speaking in Brazil during a visit that is part of the Government’s annual international programme to promote Ireland during the week of St Patrick’s Day, said the EU was “100 per cent justified and correct” in looking to set high environmental standards for international trade and it was important the union did not cause deforestation outside of the bloc as a result of its own trade policies.

The EU and the Mercosur countries of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay agreed an ambitious trade agreement in 2019 after 20 years of negotiations, but the deal remains unratified in the face of fierce opposition from European farmers and deep concerns from environmental organisations about the role played by Brazil’s beef sector in deforestation in the Amazon jungle.

France and Ireland are among the member states that have said they will not approve the agreement in its current form. Brazil, Mercosur’s dominant member, has dismissed calls to retool the deal as a late bid to shield European beef farmers from competing more directly with their more efficient South American peers. Mr Ryan said it was “not impossible” to bridge the gap between the two sides, with talks currently stalled ahead of elections for a new European Parliament, which along with member states must ratify the agreement.

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“What we don’t want is to go into a protectionist world where Europe, America, China, Latin America and the rest of Asia end up in a trade war which won’t allow us to make the leap we need to make to what is a new economic system,” he said, referring to the global effort to transition away fossil fuels. Mr Ryan, who met with several environmental and indigenous groups during his week-long trip, said any diminution of environmental standards “is not in Brazil’s interest and it is not in Ireland’s and Europe’s interest”.

[ Irish farmers protest in solidarity with European counterparts ]

Mr Ryan also met Brazil’s environment minister Marina Silva after a visit to the Amazonian city of Belém, which next year will host the COP30 summit. He praised Brazilian leadership in setting up a task force on financing the global transition to renewable energy within the G20 group of major economies, whose heads of state meet in Rio de Janeiro in November. “What we saw in recent years is that if you can stitch things into G20 declarations, then it is much easier to get agreement at COP,” he said.

As well as climate, Mr Ryan discussed the crisis in Gaza in a meeting with Brazilian foreign minister Mauro Vieira. Ireland and Brazil have been among the strongest critics within their respective regions of Israel’s military response to the October 7th Hamas attack.

[ What is the Mercosur trade deal, and what would it mean for Irish farmers? ]

The two men also discussed the war between Russia and Ukraine. While Brazil condemned Russia’s invasion, it has refused to impose sanctions on Moscow, which is Brazil’s biggest supplier of diesel and largest source of fertilisers for its booming agricultural sector. While criticising the invasion, Brazil’s President Lula has said his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy is “as responsible” as Vladimir Putin for the conflict and has called for the US to stop funding Kyiv in order to force it to the negotiating table. Mr Lula also recently confirmed he will attend a summit of the Bric nations being hosted by Mr Putin in Kazan in October.

[ Varadkar flags Mercosur concerns as trade deal edges closer ]

Mr Ryan said he told his Brazilian counterpart, “Don’t underestimate European solidarity when it comes to supporting Ukraine. That would be a mistake.”

Tom Hennigan

Tom Hennigan

Tom Hennigan is a contributor to The Irish Times based in South America