Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The future of the CAP is of enormous importance for the agriculture sector in Ireland and across Europe. The CAP has evolved considerably and very effectively in recent years in response to changing market, consumer and environmental demands. It also plays a central role in delivering the smart, sustainable and inclusive growth sought under the Europe 2020 strategy. It is important that the CAP continues to evolve in a way that supports the achievement of European priorities, particularly in the context of securing a strong CAP budget for the post-2020 period. This can only be achieved by reinforcing the relevance and effectiveness of the policy in helping to achieve broader societal goals. This is something that I strongly believe in and will continue to actively pursue at Council level as the debate on the future CAP and its budget intensifies over the coming months.

There will be budgetary challenges arising not only from the UK decision to exit the European Union but also from the need to address other EU policy challenges such as those relating to migration, security and growth. In that regard, the CAP should not be seen as a policy of the past, and it is already addressing some of these new challenges. The Taoiseach, in his address to the European Parliament in January 2018, already indicated that Ireland is open to contributing more to the EU budget but only if the money is spent on policies that contribute to the advancement of the European ideal. More clarity will be provided next Wednesday, 2 May, when the European Commission publishes its multi-annual financial framework, MFF, proposals.

Key to delivering as strong a CAP budget as possible is ensuring that we form alliances with like-minded member states where it is possible. In that context, I regularly meet my European ministerial colleagues at the Council of European Agriculture Ministers and separately in more formal bilateral meetings. In that regard, on 16 April, I met the Austrian Agriculture Minister while on 25 April I met the Dutch Agriculture Minister. This will be followed by meetings with the French, Germany and Danish Ministers on 2 May and 3 May. These meetings give me the opportunity to discuss future CAP policy and funding. Ultimately, the approval of the MFF is a matter for the European Council and it will be ratified by the European Parliament.

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