Turkey’s EU bid ‘needs full debate’

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) cannot be the sacrificial lamb for Turkey’s accession bid, according to Malcolm Thompson, president of The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association.

Responding to the publication of the EU Commission report on Turkish accession, Mr Thompson said that a successful Turkish accession would pose many challenges to the EU budget. “Turkey will bring an additional 25 million people engaged in farming into the EU. We need a full debate on how this is to be financed”.

Outgoing EU agriculture commissioner Franz Fischler has put the cost of extending the CAP to Turkey at €11 billion.