At the recent CAP 50th anniversary event in the centre of Brussels, Macra’s Bryan Daniels and John Joyce highlighted difficulties for young people trying to enter farming in Ireland, and called for better access to land and capital, which are the most substantial barriers to entry to farming, not just in Ireland but across Europe.

ANY attempt to take funding from Leader groups and give it to other agencies would be a breach of contract, according to Jack Roche of rural development company IRD Duhallow.

APPROVAL for an advance payment of the 2010 single farm payment has been sought from the European Commission by Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Minister Brendan Smith to help alleviate the financial plight of farmers.

EUROPEANS are primarily aware of the need for a strong common policy, focused on agriculture and serving society as a whole.

THE public debate being conducted by the European Commission on the future of the Common Agriculture Policy has been extended until this coming Friday by popular demand.

THE Common Agricultural Policy must deliver a better future for farm families, the 87,000-member Irish Farmers Association has told the European Commission.

A LATE push is being made to encourage more Irish submissions to the European Commission debate on the future of the Common Agricultural Policy.

ONE thousand contributions have been made to the public debate on the future of the Common Agricultural Policy – but only seven have been from Ireland.

THE criteria for the distribution of European Union direct payments should be reviewed, according to Agriculture and Rural Development Commissioner Dacian Ciolos.

THE EU needs a better tailored, reformed Common Agricultural Policy, to answer the challenges of food security, growth and jobs in rural areas.

EUROPEAN farm and co-op leaders have urged the new Agriculture and Rural Development Commissioner Dacian Ciolos, to maintain Common Agricultural Policy direct aid payments to in a bid to safeguard a viable and competitive EU agriculture sector.

THE online voting deadline to decide a new European Union organic logo is January 31.

THE provisional figures for farm incomes per worker in 2009 show a decline of 12.2% across the EU.

THE European Commission has invited all Europeans to cast their votes in the final stage of the EU organic logo competition.

NEW insights into mountain farming in the European Union are outlined by the European Commission in a document launched by Agriculture and Rural Development Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel at a conference in Austria.

EUROPEAN farmers angry over a collapse in milk prices threw eggs, burned tyres and hay and poured milk onto the streets of Brussels yesterday.

FURTHER steps are being taken by European Union agriculture ministers including Ireland’s Brendan Smith to reduce the level of red tape for farmers.

THE battle is already under way in Europe to protect the high level of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) payments to Irish farmers for the period 2013-2021.

THE quality and diversity of European food and drink is being promoted in China this week by Agriculture and Rural Development Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel.

FARMING not only contributes to climate change but will also be very seriously affected by it, according to European Agriculture and Rural Development Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel.

DESIGN and art students from the 27 EU member states have been invited to create a logo for use on organic products.

THE European Commission has insisted that all member states publish details of recipients of CAP payments by today, as set out in EU law.

FOOD prices seem rather out of touch with the reality at the end of the food chain, European Agriculture and Rural Development Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel has noted.

A DAIRY industry summit is to be held in the Horse and Jockey, Co Tipperary, on Thursday, February 19, to decide the priorities for Agriculture Minister Brendan Smith to pursue in Brussels in order to secure urgent European Union market supports.

MEMBER states of the EU last week voted unanimously in favour of introducing a specific private storage aid scheme for pigmeat produced in Ireland.

A TOTAL of €17.8 million is to be made available to promote European agricultural produce in Russia, Ukraine, China, Japan and North America over the next three years.

IRELAND is not among the EU member states which have been ordered to pay back unduly spent agricultural funds.

DROUGHTS and water scarcity in the EU are becoming more serious, according to Agriculture and Rural Development Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel.

THE Government has come under pressure to extend the deadline for completion of farm waste management schemes by another year beyond December 31.

THE names of all recipients of European Union agricultural and rural development payments will be published in detail on the internet by the end of April next year.

EUROPEAN farming must become even more competitive so that it can hold its head high in a globalised world, Agriculture and Rural Development Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel declared in Florence, Italy, yesterday.

ALL recipients of European Union agricultural and rural development payments will be published in detail under new rules adopted yesterday by the European Commission.

A ROOT and branch review of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), will be launched by the European Commission in Brussels today.

EUROPEAN Union agriculture ministers yesterday reached political agreement on a new regulation regarding organic production and labelling, which it predicts will be simpler for both farmers and consumers.

THE 10% target that the EU has set for biofuel use in its transport usage by 2020 can be met without putting a huge strain on its food markets.

REPORTED comments by Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson that the European Union is willing to give more ground over farm tariff cuts in the resuming world trade talks were sharply criticised by Agriculture and Food Minister Mary Coughlan in Brussels yesterday.