With the first round of negotiations for a free-trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, with Venezuelan sitting out of these discussions) due to start in mid-October, the first since the talks were relaunched in 2010, the statements made by the Uruguayan minister for foreign affairs, Rodolfo Nin Novoa, who said at the weekend that there would be no agreement if beef was not included, caused angry reactions in Ireland.
"So far what we've had with the EU are tentative exploratory exchanges of proposals (Ed: for market access offers). But next month we will be holding the first formal meeting, the first in over 14 years. I've told ranchers that if there is no inclusion of beef, there is no deal, that is plain clear", Nin Novoa said, following a meeting with the president of the Uruguayan agricultural association, Ricardo Reilly, according to the Uruguayan press agency MercoPress on Tuesday 13 September.
These comments went down badly in Ireland where, despite assurances given in May by Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan that beef was "off the menu" of the talks, the response given by Commissioner for the Trade Cecilia Malmstrom to a written question from MEP Marian Harkin (ALDE, Ireland) asking whether beef could be added to the EU's offer further down the line or was completely excluded from the agreement, has caused no end of concern.
Malmstrom replied by saying that it was "unrealistic" to expect the Mercosur countries to conclude an agreement with the EU without securing better access to its beef market, the Irish daily newspaper Irish Independent reported on 13 September.
Harkin described this response as "very worrying for Irish beef farmers, who are already experiencing an extremely difficult income crisis". "If large quantities of Brazilian or Argentine beef were allowed to be sold in the EU, it would automatically have a detrimental impact on Irish farmers and may even put many out of business", she warned, calling on the country's agricultural organisations to "react quickly" and put pressure on the Irish government and the Commission not to include an agreement with Mercosur if sensitive agricultural products such as beef are included in the offer.
The European and South American negotiators will meet in the week from 10 to 14 October. The parties exchanged their market access offers (covering goods, services and public procurement) on 11 May (see EUROPE 11549). (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)