CAP reform details emerging

By Brian Morrissey

02 July 2003 : The fine details of how the European Union CAP reforms agreed by EU Agriculture Ministers on 26 June 03 are to be implemented will be available in the Irish Farmers’ Journal print and online editions on Thursday 03 July 2003. The Irish Department of Agriculture and Food (DAF) convened a technical briefing on Tuesday 01 July 2003 to describe to the agricultural media how the options available to Ireland under the mid-term CAP reform will be implemented in practice. Irish Farmers’ Journal news and business editors are currently analysing the impact of the implementation details. Their description of the future regulatory environment for Irish farming and their analysis of the impact the reforms might have will be available in the Irish Farmers’ Journal print and online editions on Thursday 03 July 2003.

Reactions  IFA calls for task force     ICMSA loses confidence    President Prodi - Historic   Agreement    France - Official Reaction  NI Comment on MTR Deal  WTO - Negotiations  Background to CAP   Reform Agreement

In Northern Ireland, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, is briefing the Irish Farmers’ Journal Northern Editor James Campbell this morning, Wednesday 02 July 2003.

In the Irish Farmers’ Journal print and online editions of Thursday 03 July 2003, James will be describing how the reforms are to be implemented in the North, and analysing what impact any differences in regulations between North and South might have on future trade and production.

According to our Northern Editor, the agreement reached in Luxembourg provides flexibility for the new agricultural support system from 2005 to be implemented in different ways in each EU Member State and even within distinct regions of Member States. The rules, for example on de-coupling of support payments, may differ in Northern Ireland from those in the Republic of Ireland or in Scotland. The establishment of different support regimes has the potential to distort trade. For this reason it will be important for Department of Agriculture officials and farm organisations on both sides of the Irish border to take note of what is being proposed in the neighbouring regions.

In Northern Ireland the Minister responsible for Agriculture and Rural Development Ian Pearson has stated his intention to fully involve farming industry representatives in planning the implementation of the new support regime. Ian Pearson is convening a meeting of the NI Rural Stakeholders Forum this month (July 2003) to begin discussions on the way ahead. He says that the agri-food business climate has changed radically and it will be necessary to adopt a more strategic focus across a range of policy areas.

The comments on CAP reform won't only be coming from DAF and the agricultural media: the general public is to have its say on the CAP reform agreement. Later this month, DAF are to advertise in the media for submissions on what has become known as "The Luxembourg Agreement" from all sections of society. DAF hopes to have collated all the public submissions by the end of August, when the full text of the CAP reform agreement should be available from Brussels.

The president of the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers' Association (ICSA), John Deegan, also wants his say. He has stated that the ICSA will begin lobbying today to be included in the consultation process surrounding the CAP reforms.

 

IFA and ICMSA attack Walsh over CAP reforms

By Brian Morrissey

01 July 2003: The details of the European Union CAP reform agreed by EU Agriculture Ministers on 26 June 03 have been analysed by the main Irish farming bodies and both organisations are unhappy with the deal.

Both the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) and the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) held national council meetings on Monday 20 June 03 to discuss the implications of the mid-term review of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

The two main Irish farm organisations have strongly criticised the Irish Minister for Agriculture Joe Walsh, who they say has not defended Irish farming interests in the CAP reform negotiations.

John Dillon, leader of the IFA has said that the CAP reform agreement is a very bad deal for Irish farming and called on the minister to set up a task force to secure the future of the Irish dairy industry. Mr Dillon said the IFA is seeking an immediate meeting with the Taoiseach under social partnership to assess the impact of the reform package.

ICMSA president Pat O'Rourke said the association's national council was rapidly losing confidence in the Minister's ability to defend farm incomes and the interests of the agri-food sector in Ireland. The ICMSA has set up a strategy group to address the consequences of the agreement and will also be seeking a meeting with the Taoiseach.

CAP Reform Reactions

By Brian Morrissey

30 June 2003: Reactions to the agreement on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) mid-term review reached on Thursday 26 June 2003 have in general been positive, and the focus now shifts to negotiations on the implementation of the reforms.

We present here comments from EU President Romano Prodi, France's Minister for Agriculture Hervé Gaymard, and our Northern Ireland editor James Campbell.

Irish Minister for Agriculture Joe Walsh has promised that negotiations to find a means of implementing the reformed CAP will begin within weeks. 

Minister Walsh said that the mid-term review changes are the biggest shake-up of the CAP in its lifetime, and many of the finer details of the reforms still have to be worked out by EU officials.

As soon as these details are known, Minister Walsh will be talking with the social partners about the implementation of the de-coupling element of the reformed CAP.

Today, Monday 30 June 2003, the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) is calling an emergency meeting of its national executive to discuss the new agreement and its impact the association's members.

The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) is also holding a national council meeting to debate the CAP reforms and to find ways of minimising their impact on dairy farmers.

UK farmers are fearful that the French, the Irish and other countries can use the flexibility allowed in the reforms to keep the link between output and support - that is, avoid de-coupling to some extent. The fully de-coupled UK farmers would then be faced with weakened markets and a fall in output.

For Northern Ireland farmers, the same flexibility means that NI doesn't have to follow the UK in the way it implements future agricultural support, and so NI has the option of only partially de-coupling some livestock premia.