CAP claims are wrong, says Fischler

DOOMSAYERS who claimed the proposed reform of the Common Agricultural Policy would make the Irish beef industry shut down or British roast beef disappear, have got it wrong, EU Farm Commissioner Franz Fischler said yesterday.

He said this was clearly shown in impact studies, two internal and four external, published by the European Commission.

Dr Fischler said the proposal to simplify the present premium system and to free producers from the direct link between number of animals and payments would result in a 3% decline of beef production.