Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 February 2026
210. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the analysis her Department has undertaken into the environmental impact of the Mercosur trade agreement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14909/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraIreland’s membership of the EU makes us part of a growing network of EU Free Trade Agreements, supporting more opportunity for exports and investment, helping support jobs and growth at home, maintaining strict EU standards on food safety, animal and plant health, and supporting better environmental and human rights standards around the world.
Ireland supports the efforts of the EU to promote values-based trade, linking trade to sustainability issues such as climate change, labour standards and human rights. EU Free Trade Agreements provide the opportunity to set high levels of standards and commitments between trade partners on climate change through dedicated chapters on Trade and Sustainable Development (TSD). Ireland also fully supports EU Free Trade Agreements as a means to develop strategic partnerships for critical supplies that support the green transition.
Throughout the negotiations of the EU-Mercosur agreement, the Government made clear to the Commission Ireland’s key requirements in regard to the deal. We repeatedly raised concerns in relation to our priority areas of climate, biodiversity, deforestation, as well as protections and assurances in regard to incomes of farmers in Ireland.
In response to pressure from Ireland and other Member States, the original Agreement reached in 2019 was re-opened to address concerns in relation to the environment, particularly concerning deforestation. The ensuing negotiations with Mercosur, which concluded in December 2024, led to an additional interpretative legal instrument addressing sustainability commitments.
As a result, the EU-Mercosur Agreement reflects the latest EU standards on TSD and contains a number of improvements over the original agreement in 2019. For example, it makes the Paris Agreement, a legally binding international treaty on climate change, an essential element of the EU-Mercosur relationship. Concrete commitments to tackle deforestation from 2030 are included – this is the first time that parties to an agreement subject to dispute settlement have made commitments to stop deforestation. The instrument also contains commitments on the development of sustainable supply chains and provisions to promote trade in sustainable products that help conserve biodiversity.
The Government will continue to engage with the Commission and with other EU Member States in the time ahead to ensure the full implementation of the commitments obtained from the Commission to address our concerns with the Agreement, including on trade and sustainability, should the Agreement be implemented.
