The European Commission has been accused of throwing farmers under the bus with its latest CAP reform.
Yesterday’s announcement on the future of European agriculture shows a 20% drop in funding from the previous policy, something which had been feared locally before its publication.
The decision to include farming in the Multiannual Financial Framework means resources for the sector have dropped from 386 billion to around 300 billion.
Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Agriculture, Carlow Kilkenny TD Peter ˜Chap’ Cleere, says it’s a huge blow to farmers, noting; “I mean, they’re the equivalent of throwing farmers under the bus really, what Europe has proposed is a 20% real terms cut to the CAP and I suppose at a time when we’re supposed to be backing farmers more than ever, this is completely unacceptable”.
He adds; “This is Europe abandoning farmers and this is just the beginning of negotiations which will continue over the course of the next couple of years, we will back our farmers to the hilt in all European negotiations and will use our influence when Ireland assumes the Presidency of the Council of the EU in 2026 that it now becomes more important than ever, that it has a real agricultural focus to it”.
