Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 6 November 2012
127. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the steps he is taking to secure support for the common agricultural policy budget and his single farm payment reform proposals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47555/12]
View answerThe Deputy correctly identifies the crucial importance for Ireland of securing support for its position in relation to the EU budget and the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The building of alliances with counterparts in like-minded Member States is an essential component of Ireland’s approach to both sets of negotiations.
The negotiations on the Multiannual Financial Framework, or MFF, for the period from 2014 to 2020 are being conducted under the auspices of the EU General Affairs Council, attended by my colleague, the Tanaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs. However, I have also been taking the opportunity, in the course of my extensive consultations with counterparts on the reform of the CAP - and in preparation for the Irish Presidency of the Agriculture Council - to make very clear Ireland’s concerns in relation to the elements of the budget negotiations that have a direct bearing on the CAP.
The overriding national priority is to safeguard CAP funding to the maximum extent possible, having regard to the reality that CAP accounts for over 80% of Ireland’s total receipts of EU funding, equivalent to about €12 billion over the 2007-2013 period. This is a whole of Government position. The CAP is the only expenditure heading that has already been reduced in real terms in the Commission proposal. There is pressure from some Member States to reduce CAP spending further - and this has been reflected in the latest version of the Negotiating Box circulated by the Cypriot Presidency last week. The Irish Government’s view remains that the amounts proposed by the Commission are the minimum acceptable, and we will strongly resist pressure for further cuts.
We also want to retain our current levels of funding for both direct payments and for rural development. The Commission proposals for Pillar 1 direct payments take a pragmatic approach to redistribution and are broadly satisfactory, albeit with a small loss to Ireland. However, the Presidency’s communication last week raises the prospect of cuts to both pillars, and we will therefore continue to strongly defend our allocations in the course of the negotiations.
Ultimately, of course, decisions on the MFF will be taken by EU Heads of State and Government. A special meeting of the European Council has been scheduled for the 22nd and 23rd of this month for this purpose, and it is my intention to attend those talks.
More specifically in relation to CAP reform, the building of alliances is something that I have undertaken since my appointment in March of last year. Dialogue with my counterparts in other Member States has been a constant feature of the negotiations thus far, and has been particularly effective in recent months in our efforts to ensure that the scale of transfers arising from the redistribution of direct payments within Member States is kept to the minimum possible level.
The Deputy will be aware that, under the Commission’s flat rate proposals, the scale of transfers in Ireland would be extremely large, and both economically and politically unjustifiable. Approximately 75,000 farmers would see their payments rise by an average of 85%, while 55,000 would see their payments fall by an average of 33%. An alternative approach developed by Ireland, involving the application of the Commission’s methodology for the distribution of direct payments between Member States, would ensure more modest gains of an average of 29% and losses of 9%.
I have been working closely with like-minded Member States to gain support for this alternative approach, which is consistent with the Commission’s desire to move away from the historical basis for direct payments but does not go as far or as fast as the Commission proposes. And I have been very successful, with five Member States - Denmark, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Luxembourg - signing up to a joint paper with Ireland that calls for Member States to be given the flexibility to apply this model. Other Member States have also shown interest, and we are continuing to consult with them. I am hopeful that these efforts will result in greater flexibility being given to Member States to implement models that suit their own farming conditions, and will mitigate the potential impact of the move away from the reference to historical payments.
Of course all of these bilateral contacts are in addition to the opportunities that I have availed of to discuss issues of importance to Ireland with my Ministerial colleagues from the other Member States - and Commissioner Ciolos - at the EU Council of Agriculture Ministers meetings held each month in Brussels or Luxembourg, and at the Informal Ministerial Councils, held this year, for example, in Denmark and Cyprus. I have also addressed the Agricultural Committee of the European Parliament, and have met with key MEPs including Rapporteurs and Shadow Rapporteurs across the different CAP reform dossiers, as well as key interlocutors in the Commission and in the Council Secretariat.
I plan to continue these contacts over the coming months, and to engage actively with Ministerial colleagues from other Member States, with the Commissioner and with Members of the European Parliament. My approach will continue to be informed at all times by the need to maintain and develop alliances with like-minded Member States in order to secure the best possible outcome for Ireland in the CAP reform negotiations.
I should add that my contacts at Ministerial level are supplemented by a parallel process of detailed engagement at official level by my Department with counterparts from the Commission, European Parliament and other Member States.
