Before Christmas, I wrote that the decision on whether or not to ratify the Mercosur Trade Deal, so hated by Irish farm groups, was not in the Government’s hands. That is because under the terms of the Lisbon Treaty (enthusiastically backed, of course, by Irish farm groups in 2008 and 2009) the Irish Government does not have a veto over European Trade Policy, which is decided by Qualified Majority Vote (QMV).
It now seems certain that Mercosur will be approved, probably as soon as the end of this week, in a vote by the European Council. That certainty is a result of an apparent shift in the position of Italy, which was considered the key swing vote. Without the opposition of Giorgia Meloni’s government, there simply is no path to a “blocking minority” in the EU council.
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