The European Union has approved the Mercosur trade deal.
A majority of member states confirmed they would back the agreement in Brussels today, with Ireland and France among the countries which opposed it.
It aims to increase trade opportunities with countries in South America.
Farmers here are opposed to the deal, raising concerns over the standard of beef which will be imported as a result.
The agreement will now need to be ratified by MEPs in the European Parliament.
The head of the European Commission in Ireland has condemned the Government’s decision to vote against the Mercosur Trade Agreement, saying Ireland’s stance focused too narrowly on the concerns of beef farmers.
Peter Power says, it was a “real tragedy” that the advantages of the deal, for the likes of industry and services, “didn’t get a hearing” during the debates on it in Ireland.
He says the debate was unbalanced…………….
