EU commission named - A coup for Ireland as EU sands shift

In Irish terms, the appointment of former environment minister Phil Hogan as EU commissioner for agriculture and rural development can be regarded as something of a coup.

In European terms, it must be seen as a considerable challenge on multiple fronts. Mr Hogan’s appointment may also be seen as a political reward for Ireland’s record on two issues. First, Enda Kenny’s steadfast support for Jean-Claude Juncker during his successful campaign to be named European Commission president despite vehement opposition from British prime minister David Cameron. Second, our society-wide reaction to the euro crisis and our relatively calm acceptance of the bitter measures needed to stabilise an economy careering towards a cliff edge.

Accelerating issues — and populations — means that food and energy security are ever more important to Europe, so agriculture will remain a potent force in EU politics, a position reflected in the fact that the portfolio is responsible for more than a third of the community’s budget. The budget for 2014 to 2020 stands at more than €360bn, and most of that will be spent under the new Common Agricultural Policy agreed just last year. Despite criticism of CAP’s system of subsidies and its occasionally questionable influence on conservation matters, it remains the driving force in an industry that has a pivotal impact on the wellbeing of our domestic economy. In that regard, having an Irish farm commissioner, a commissioner familiar with the issues in “the country he knows best”, cannot but be a good thing. “The country I know best”— eurocrat shorthand for a commissioner’s home country — can, like in many other European countries, help shape Mr Hogan’s work in rural development, the second strand of his portfolio.