FARMERS WILL find it very difficult to support the Lisbon Treaty if EU proposals on world trade get the go-ahead, the president of the IFA has warned.
Pádraig Walshe said farmers believed in the ideals of Europe but concessions being proposed at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks by EU trade commissioner Peter Mandelson will wipe out the Irish beef industry.
The IFA claims Mr Mandelson is prepared to offer a cut of 70 per cent in tariffs on beef, similar concessions on dairy products and zero tariffs on lamb to imports from outside the EU in WTO talks taking place in Geneva at present.
The IFA calculates that, if the proposals go ahead, Irish farmers could see the halving of cattle prices to €1.60 per kg (less than 60p a pound) in the coming years with the loss of the suckler cow herd.
Minister for Agriculture Mary Coughlan has already signalled her unease about the proposals as has French president Nicolas Sarkozy.
Around 500 farmers staged a protest outside the offices of the European Commission in Molesworth Street, Dublin. Their anger was manifest in posters calling on Mandelson to go.
Mr Walshe said: "We believe the best interests of Irish farmers are served by being in Europe, but if the powers that be don't sit up and take notice on this issue, it is going to be very difficult for us to convince Irish farmers to vote for the Lisbon Treaty."
In a statement the European Commission said the outcome of the WTO trade talks were "far from certain" and that parties other than the EU needed to make a greater contribution. It pledged to seek a balanced deal.
