Farmers prepare to take part in a protest against the EU-Mercosur trade deal in Athlone on Friday, a day after EU states approved the treaty despite opposition from Ireland and France. Photograph: Gareth Chaney/AFP via Getty ImagesI hope some Irish MEPs change their minds and decide to support the Mercosur deal when it comes to the upcoming vote in the European Parliament. Because the trade deal between Europe and Latin America runs counter to that US ‘divide and conquer’ strategy, we should give it our support. It made explicit what they wanted to do: have hegemony over the whole western hemisphere, undermine the European Union and ignore climate change and human rights. It seems clear Taoiseach Micheál Martin had changed his own mind in recent weeks and decided we should support the Mercosur deal in the end.

Source: The Irish Times January 13, 2026 10:33 UTC