Ciolos favours farm pay change

THE person most likely to be the next EU Agriculture Commissioner has said he favours changing the single farm payment regime, away from the historic-based payment system used in Ireland.

Currently the Romanian Agriculture Minister, Dacian Ciolos, told MEPs he would fight to maintain the current level of funding for the new CAP budget due to be negotiated next year.

“I’m a reformer and reform does not mean reducing financial support, but adapting it to tackle the new challenges,” he told MEPs during a three-hour hearing on his suitability for the post.