Ireland says it will vote against EU-Mercosur agreement

LONDON

Ireland said it will vote against the Mercosur trade agreement as opposition to the deal grows in Europe, local media reported on Thursday.

The Irish government's position on Mercosur "has always been clear" - that it did not support the deal in the form in which it was presented, Irish Deputy Prime Minister Simon Harris said in a statement as reported by the country's public broadcaster RTE.

According to the report, it came after several independent ministers and lawmakers within the coalition government asked the government to oppose the deal that would be voted on Thursday.

Harris said that although the bloc has agreed to a number of additional measures in negotiations on the deal, however, he noted: "They are not sufficient to satisfy our citizens."

"So our position stands. We will vote against the agreement."

Earlier on Thursday, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto also said that his country will vote against the deal, expressing that it would come "at the expense of the livelihoods of Hungarian farmers."

The agreement would grant preferential tariffs for imports of beef, poultry, dairy products, sugar and ethanol from Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia, while European industrial goods would gain wider access to South American markets.

The deal, initially expected to be signed in December, was postponed to the new year due to last-minute opposition from member states like France and Italy, who were concerned about agricultural impacts.

Opposition to the deal has also surfaced elsewhere. In mid-December, farmers from several European countries, including France and Italy, protested in Brussels, warning that Mercosur tariff preferences could harm European agriculture.