The planning stage

Farmers should not make rash decisions based on the CAP proposals because they may yet change substantially, writes Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney.

I WELCOME that fact that the legal proposals are finally on the table and that we can now get down to the real work of decision-making to establish the policy framework for EU agriculture in the years ahead. A great deal of work had already been done by Ireland in the lead-up to the proposals but the talks now move to another level.

While there are some positives in the proposals from an Irish perspective, there are aspects that I am not happy with. The priority for me is to retain Irish agriculture funding and to ensure we have a strong and effective CAP which will support our ambitions for the sector as set out most recently in Food Harvest 2020: Milestones for Success. The proposed redistribution of funds between EU states largely protects our Pillar 1 funding — and closely reflects proposals made by Ireland in the earlier discussions — but a threat still hangs over our funding for rural development. I am determined to fight to retain our CAP funds.