Allister meets COPA-COGECA on Future of CAP
01 September 2007
Jim Allister MEP has met with COPA-COGECA, the umbrella organisation of Farming Unions and Agricultural Co-operatives in Europe, to discuss the future of the Common Agricultural Policy.
The meeting took place this week in Brussels with Secretary General of COPA-COGECA, Mr Pekka Pesonen.
Mr Allister commented,
‘The Commission is intending to publish its proposals on the CAP ‘Health Check’ in November. I welcome the opportunity to hear the farming lobby’s views on what the Health Check should achieve, and what dangers are to be avoided in these negotiations.’
‘In relation to the CAP and the dairy sector, COPA-COGECA welcomes the recent uplift in prices across EU Member States. However, they do share my concerns about the effects on milk production in some parts of Europe, should quotas be abolished as the Commission is suggesting. The likely impact on the Northern Ireland dairy industry, should quotas be phased out is something which must be urgently assessed. This is particularly the case with the significant investments local farmers have made in purchasing quota over the years.’
‘The Review of the LFA scheme was also discussed, as was the current difficulties facing the beef and intensive sectors Europe-wide. The provision of appropriate safety nets for these and other sectors was discussed.’
‘The Health Check must be about refining the system which is in place to work better for farmers. For example, under current Single Farm Payment rules, cases of duplicate claims have been met with a presumption of fraud, resulting in disproportionate penalties being applied to landowners and farmers.
It is simply not enough to tackle red tape, but also the mindset which lends itself to such a draconian bureaucratic approach in the first place.’
‘The last couple of years have reinforced the importance of farmers as providing not only Europe’s food requirements, but also increasingly energy.
Growing demand for food from emerging economies, most notably China, in combination with climatic factors and competing demand for limited land reserves is resulting in much reduced feed stocks. Therefore, the importance of safeguarding a viable, sustainable agricultural industry has never been greater.’
‘I intend to present my views on the CAP Health Check to the Commission in coming days.’
ENDS
