“Is the EU a dictatorship or is it there to carry out the wishes of it’s member states?” That’s the question being asked by Roscommon-Galway Independent TD Michael Fitzmaurice after it emerged that the EU has committed to a deal with Mercosur trade block on the import of cheap beef despite the strong objections of 20 member states including Ireland.
“As I pointed out at the weekend if this deal goes through then many thousands of farm families around the country will be affected and the beef industry will be under serious pressure and that situation would put further pressure on rural communities. We see that 20 member countries in the EU including France, Austria, Poland Ireland and many more are strongly opposed to this deal yet Commissioner Hogan says that the EU are committed to this deal. Surely in view of the huge opposition to this deal it needs to be revisited or are we in a situation where the EU is now a dictatorship which does not listen to it’s member states. Our Agriculture Minister and our MEP’s will have to work as hard as they can to ensure that this deal does not go ahead as it would prove disastrous for the beef industry and small family farms in particular” he concluded.