EU ambassadors approve Mercosur trade deal

The Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) has said the approval of the Mercosur trade agreement by EU ambassadors "is very disappointing".

EU ambassadors approved the EU-Mercosur trade deal by a qualified majority.

Ireland, France, Poland, Austria and Hungary opposed the deal, while Belgium abstained from the vote.

The rest of the EU member states, including Italy, approved the deal.

Speaking to national media following confirmation that the trade deal had been approved in Brussels this morning, IFA President Francie Gorman said the EU Commission should be "concerned" by the "very narrow margin with countries representing a sizeable proportion of the EU population - 31.3% - not supporting the deal".

"The Commission cannot ignore the scale of the opposition to the deal," Mr Gorman said.

Meanwhile, Independent Ireland TD Michael Fitzmaurice also expressed disappointment with the decision by EU ambassadors to approve the Mercosur trade deal.

The Roscommon-Galway TD said that farmers were against it because the health of people has to be put first.

He said it was about food quality and not doing harm to people in the future.

The deal is ‍the ⁠largest trade accord the ‍EU has concluded, although ⁠it will still require approval from the European Parliament before it ‍can be formally ratified into law.