Francie Gorman re-elected as a vice president of EU farm group Copa

IFA president Francie Gorman has been re-elected as a vice president of Copa, the pan-European grouping of farming organisations.

Fighting for a stronger CAP budget and opposing the EU-Mercosur free trade agreement are among the most pressing issues Copa has campaigned on over recent months on behalf of its over 20m members.

Gorman was first elected to the post of vice president of the EU farming organisation group two years ago and will now commence a second two-year term.

The re-election comes amid major uncertainty on the future of farm payments as the current round of CAP reform sees scheme budgets under pressure.

President

Leader of Italian farming organisation Confagricoltura Massimiliano Giansanti was re-elected for another stint as the EU group’s president.

"The decisions to be taken in the coming weeks will shape the lives of millions of farmers for years to come,” Giansanti said.

“After yet another challenging summer, Europe’s farmers are now looking for clear action, not more words.

“We will fight to defend a strong CAP, secure an increased budget that keeps pace with inflation, advance the simplification agenda and ensure a coherent EU trade policy. The time to act is now.”

The five other vice presidents elected on Friday in addition to Francie Gorman were Austria’s Nikolaus Berlakovich, Denmark’s Søren Søndergaard, France’s Sander Franck, Spain’s Pedro Barato and Czechia’s Jan Doležal.