As wildfires rage through the Brazilian Amazon, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadka...
FILE PHOTO: Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar arrives for a European Union leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium, July 2, 2019. Geoffroy Van Der Hasselt/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
Varadkar said in a statement he was very concerned at the record levels of rainforest destruction, and said the Irish government would closely monitor Brazil’s environmental actions in the two years until the Mercosur deal is ratified. Vast tracts of the Amazon are currently ablaze in what is known as the burning season. Environmentalists have blamed deforestation for an increase in fires and accuse Brazil’s right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro on cutting protection of an area deemed crucial in combating climate change.
Ireland would need other EU states to help form a blocking minority if it wants to kill the deal, reached in June after 20 years of negotiations between the EU and the Mercosur countries of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.
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