Cross-compliance ‘must be simplified’

EUROPEAN Union cross-compliance arrangements need to be simplified to make them more acceptable to the general farming community, Agriculture and Food Minister Mary Coughlan told a Council of Ministers meeting in Brussels yesterday.

She also spoke of her support for the concept of cross-compliance in the context of the single payment scheme and the extension of the requirements to the rural development measures.

“I accept fully that farmers in receipt of direct payments have important responsibilities towards the protection of the environment, public and animal health and animal welfare. However, I am concerned about the complexities of the rules surrounding cross-compliance generally and the fact that these rules place an intolerable burden on farmers and administrators alike.”