Talk of Ireland winning EU agriculture role ‘may be premature’

The jury is still very much out as to whether Ireland can gain control of the post of EU agriculture commissioner as the sector heads into an era packed with opportunities and challenges in equal measure.

While political sources in Dublin suggest that there is a strong push for Ireland to gain the post, our sources in Brussels suggest that such talk may be premature. While the political view in Dublin is that Environment Minister Phil Hogan would make a strong candidate, it seems other EU member states are also interested.

Chief among these is Romania, who are hoping that sitting EU Agriculture Commissioner Dacian Ciolos will be retained in his seat. Both the centre-right Romanian President Traian Basescu and the Socialist Prime Minister Victor Ponta announced their official support for Mr Ciolos to run for a second term.