No plan to cut spending on agriculture, says Fischler
“We want to maintain the level of support for the farming sector. This review is about spending the money in a more sensible and efficient way,” he said.
He stressed that the brief the EU heads of government gave the Commission at the Berlin European Council was not to cut agricultural spending.
“The budget framework is valid until 2006. EU financing after 2006 is to be discussed at a later date, in a global context, which will also include structural policy.
“Starting the funding debate at this stage would have only one effect: to delay enlargement indefinitely.” he said.
Dr Fischler explained that the Commission proposes to reduce income support to larger farms by 3% a year until reaching 20% and to channel the money saved into rural development.
“This would lead to massive increases in EU funding for this purpose. We want to use this money for new measures on quality, animal welfare and meeting standards,” he said.
Fine Gael, however, is seeking an official study of the social and economic impact of CAP reform on rural Ireland as a matter of urgency.
The party's farming spokesman, Billy Timmins TD, said many people in rural Ireland, who depend either directly or indirectly on agriculture and food industries, are totally in the dark about the impact CAP reforms will have on their lives.
“A proper study of these objectionable reforms should be conducted immediately so that those concerned can gain some insights into their future prospects,” he said.
Stressing Fine Gael's opposition to the current reform proposals, Deputy Timmins said the absence of any impact assessment at EU level is itself a clear indication that the findings would almost certainly show a dramatic drop in farming numbers and a serious knock-on effect on the rural economy and the agri-food industry.
“In the circumstances, it would strengthen Ireland's negotiating hand considerably in the CAP reform negotiations if the Minister for Agriculture were armed with empirical evidence of just how detrimental to our economic interests these reforms would be,” he said.
Agriculture Minister Joe Walsh has already stressed that the Agenda 2000 Agreement was intended to last until 2006 and farmers and the food industry have legitimate expectations of policy stability until then.
While the proposals recently unveiled by the Commission constitute a fundamental reform rather than a review, the minister pointed out that they are only proposals and very broad ones at that.
“There is a lot of detail yet to be filled in which will emerge as the proposals are examined in Brussels at official and ministerial level over the coming months.”
Minister Walsh said they are at the start of what will be a lengthy period of negotiations. There are positive aspects to what the Commission has proposed, especially in relation to the promotion of food safety and quality, environmental objectives and a reduction in the bureaucratic burden. However, the central aspects of the proposals are of major concern.
He reiterated his determination not to accept changes to the Agenda 2000 agreement which would impact on the Irish agriculture and food industry.
