EU farm reforms raise fears remote areas will suffer, says McGuinness

EU moves toward a more market-oriented farm policy and the pressure to cut government spending is raising fears that remote communities will wither, Mairead McGuinness, a member of the European Parliament’s agriculture committee has said.

“There are genuine fears about land abandonment, village decline and a lack of young people in remote parts of the EU. These issues weigh heavily in our debate in committee,” she told the Oxford Farming Conference.

She said policies such as the planned abolition of milk quotas in 2015 are causing concerns among some MEPs, who fear milk production will end in disadvantaged regions.