The Polish commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski has been nominated by European Commission president elect, Ursula van der Leyen, to take over from Phil Hogan, who moves to trade, from 1 November.

The incoming European Commissioner for Agriculture will pick up Phil Hogan’s CAP proposals and bring them to a conclusion though the timetable has slipped somewhat and an extension of the present CAP beyond 2020 for a year is now likely.

In the time and discussions ahead, we can expect the commissioner to reflect a priority on achieving convergence in CAP payments between what is known as the older EU 15 and the 13 mostly eastern European countries that were last to join the EU. Hogan’s proposals had recommended 90% east–west convergence of payments by 2027, whereas newer EU member countries would prefer 100%.

Previous roles

Commissioner Wojciechowski is currently a member of the European Court of Auditors (ECA) and has previously been an MEP and vice-chair of the agriculture committee in European Parliament between 2014 and 2016.

In the ECA, he brought forward a report titled Animal Welfare in the EU: closing the gap between ambitious goals and practical implementation.

While acknowledging that standards were generally satisfactory in the countries visited, the report noted that “the financial resources of the CAP could be better used to promote higher animal welfare standards.”

Additionally, the report noted “weaknesses still persisted in some areas related to welfare issues on the farm (in particular, the routine tail docking of pigs) and during transport (compliance with rules on long distance transport and the transport of unfit animals)”.

Hogan moves to trade

Meanwhile, in moving from agriculture to trade, outgoing commissioner Phil Hogan will still have a big impact on farmers in his role as trade commissioner.

As Hogan moves to trade, he will assume responsibility for all categories

In making trade deals, agriculture is usually one of the final sticking points, and just as he was there in the final stages of negotiation on Mercosur, he was also the last man talking when it came to concluding the EU-Japan deal which came into effect earlier this year and unlike Mercosur is one of the most farmer-friendly trade deals ever agreed by the EU with only opportunities for EU agricultural exports.

As Hogan moves to trade, he will assume responsibility for all categories but he will be particularly up to speed on the sensitivities of granting access for agricultural produce, particularly beef.

What’s on the agenda?

Moving Mercosur from a political agreement to approval and implementation will be a huge challenge, particularly with the backdrop of further destruction of the Amazon rainforest, never mind undertaking the ambitious replanting that Brazil is committed to in the Mercosur deal.

Aside from Mercosur, the trade negotiations with Australia and New Zealand are progressing

The European Parliament will have to approve the deal and we can expect quite a debate.

Aside from Mercosur, the trade negotiations with Australia and New Zealand are progressing and expected to come to a conclusion early in the term of the incoming Commission.

Both countries are looking for greatly enhanced access to the EU, with the Australians in particular envious of the privileged level of sheepmeat access New Zealand has enjoyed since the UK joined the then EEC in 1973.

Australia is expecting enhanced access for sheepmeat and beef while New Zealand will look for beef access. All of these are potentially bad news for Irish farmers.

Brexit and Trump

In the wider trade context, there are two huge challenges. The first and most immediate is that the day he is due to take up his new job is also the first day the UK is due to be outside the EU. As trade commissioner, he will be leading the EU negotiation with the UK on a future post-Brexit trade deal and if the withdrawal process is any indication, a future trade deal negotiation will be extremely difficult.

So far, he has focused on China and local spats with Canada and Mexico

The other big challenge is managing the trade relationship with the US, particularly if President Trump is re-elected in November next year and even before as he campaigns for re-election. So far, he has focused on China and local spats with Canada and Mexico but the EU has also been in his line of fire, especially in relation to EU car exports to the US and the refusal of the EU to accept US hormone-treated beef.

This was a big factor in TTIP stalling before President Trump came to power but in any case he stopped that negotiation. So far, tariffs have been avoided but they have been close and this is a relationship that will require careful management by the incoming trade commissioner.