Single farm payment Fischler’s enduring legacy
Among the longest-serving agriculture commissioners, Fischler will be remembered as a firm man who knew the industry, wavered very little from his objectives, and grew into a job which he loved over the years. But his contribution to sustaining family farms remains questionable.
He has served during a historic period in the development of the EU, which underwent its largest ever expansion during his term, increasing from 15 to 25 member states, and entering into a World Trade Organisation (WTO) draft agreement.
His tenure was also marked by Agenda 2000 - a CAP reform originally to designed to last six years, but due to end shortly, after only four. It will make way for the CAP Mid-Term Review, also known as the Fischler Reform, after its chief creator.
For farmers in Ireland, Fischler ushered in more regulations and compliance measures, going hand in hand with the unprecedented exodus out of full-time farming in Ireland.
Most of that trend is attributed to economic reasons, with the Irish boom playing a role, but aided and abetted by the EU’s move towards a cheap food policy which hit farmers with rising production costs and declining returns.
We welcome his successor - the first woman Agriculture Commissioner - economist and former Danish Minister for Agriculture, Mariann Fischer Boel, and wish here well in her difficult task in the enlarged community.
Coming from a small country, where agriculture is still relatively important, she should have an understanding of the difficulties faced by farmers generally in the smaller member states, such as Ireland.
