Today in the D\u00e1il, Social Democrats T.D. for Dublin Bay North, Deputy Cian O\u2019Callaghan, questioned the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Simon Coveney T.D. on the inclusion of climate change targets in the EU-UK trade deal.<\/p>\n
Deputy Cian O\u2019Callaghan said:<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is really worrying that the UK is resisting the EU\u2019s ask to include a joint commitment to the international climate change targets as part of the future trade relationship. It is crucial that we have a level playing field to avoid a race to the bottom in terms of environmental standards and workers\u2019 rights. We must avoid\u00a0UK-based firms being allowed to undercut EU firms as a result of less stringent competition and state aid rules, lower taxes and laxer social and environmental protections.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe must protect the \u2018European Green Deal\u2019 which proposes a \u2018carbon border mechanism\u2019 that seeks to prevent \u2018carbon leakage\u2019 \u2013 or the offshoring of emissions. A level playing field will also prevent emissions \u201cdumping\u201d by the UK. We cannot stand by and allow dumping, undercutting and the erosion of rights and standards that have been hard fought for over several decades. A level playing field will be an important counter-weight to the neo-liberal vision of a free market based on privatisation and deregulation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe negotiations on the future EU-UK trade relationship that continue next week are crucially important for our future and for the future direction of the European Union. The UK government must not be allowed to continue to run down the clock. They must provide details and timelines of what infrastructure they will put in place to ensure inspections that protect the integrity of the single market. There is a great deal at stake here for jobs, trade, environmental standards and workers\u2019 rights. Getting this agreement right is of vital importance for Ireland, Britain and all the people of Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n
[ENDS]<\/p>\n
7th May 2020<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Today in the D\u00e1il, Social Democrats T.D. for Dublin Bay North, Deputy Cian O\u2019Callaghan, questioned the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Simon Coveney T.D. on the inclusion of climate change targets in the EU-UK trade deal. Deputy Cian O\u2019Callaghan said: \u201cIt is really worrying that the UK is resisting the EU\u2019s ask to include […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":928,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[278,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-927","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cian-ocallaghan","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n