States must compromise to agree meaningful CAP deal, says MEP

Compromises between EU member states will be necessary to gain a meaningful new CAP agreement, but they will not be easy to achieve, Ireland East MEP Mairead McGuinness believes.

One of the lead negotiators on direct payments, Ms McGuinness said this week’s trilogue process of talks between negotiators from the European Parliament, the council and commission was the final and perhaps most difficult phase of the CAP reform process.

Definitions of terms like active farmers, payments to young farmers, and details of the small farmer scheme have all proven to be bones of contention between states. Nonetheless, Ms McGuinness said progress is being made towards compromise.

“The trilogue meetings will continue right up to the end of June when we are aiming to have a final agreement on the CAP.

“There is still a great deal of detail to be thrashed out between parliament, council and commission. There will have to be compromise, but the parliament will hold fast to the mandate voted by the plenary last month.”

The MEP said the implications of the greening measures on Irish farming are only beginning to be assessed. These measures are designed to deliver on bio-diversity and climate and will have implications for farming enterprises, especially the tillage sector.

“We must ensure that the measures take account of the practical realities of farming in difficult years, so that there are no penalties imposed on farmers for failing to comply with measures that are simply impossible to implement because of unseasonal and unpredictable weather patterns, like we have experienced this year.

“From an Irish perspective, the reforms must take account of the key role of the livestock sector to the economy, as evidenced in the report by UCD’s Professor Alan Renwick. Some 100,000 farmers and a further 50,000 jobs depend on the livestock sector, with €1 of direct support underpinning a further €4 of aggregate output in the economy.”

Meanwhile, IFA president John Bryan is to engage in an intensive round of discussions with the rapporteurs from the main groups in the parliament and Irish MEPs next week.

“The parliament will have an important role in this CAP reform as it has been given co-decision for the first time.

“We expect our MEPs to reflect Irish concerns in the forthcoming discussions and pursue an outcome that does not damage our growth prospects and supports farming,” he said.

The key MEP rapporteurs include Luis Manuel Capulot Santos on direct payments, Michel Dantin on market supports and Giovanni la Via on simplification. Mr Bryan will also meet the chair of the parliament’s agriculture committee, Paolo de Castro.

IFA officers are also holding meetings with the Irish MEPs. They will lobby them to ensure Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney builds on the work of last month’s Farm Council meeting and holds out firmly against the commission proposals on flattening and regionalisation.

Mr Bryan said the focus must remain on delivering a positive deal for Ireland, and the next three months would be critical. Mr Coveney must ensure no further cuts are conceded in the discussions with the parliament and the commission, he said.

“The recent Farm Council meeting achieved crucial flexibilities for Ireland, which include approximation, variable greening and coupled payments. IFA’s position remains that there should be minimum re-distribution over the longest timeframe, with objective criteria to target payments to farmers who have increased their production.

“The next phase, involving the European Parliament and the EU Commission, will be equally important, particularly in terms of maintaining the flexibilities secured to ensure Ireland can apply the right payment model for our farmers in the final deal.”