Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Competence for the negotiation of a free trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur lies with the EU Commission. The policy that determines the scope of the Commission's mandate to negotiate is set by the EU Trade Council, advised by the Trade Policy Committee. The position that Ireland takes during the negotiations at Council will be set by the Government. That position will be based on proposals that I will bring to the Government, in conjunction with the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Minister for Foreign Affairs. I am concerned by initial indications from impact studies carried out by the EU Commission of the damaging impact on the agricultural sector. The proposals that I will bring to the Government will be informed by the results of the full impact studies that we expect to receive from the EU Commission in the next few weeks, as well as by the results of our own studies carried out by Forfás and Teagasc. I expect the EU Commission to await the full examination of the detailed impact studies before any offers are made. The publication of any offers connected to these negotiations is a matter for the EU Commission.