Seanad debates

Thursday, 10 October 2002

Address by President of the European Parliament.

 

Regarding the economy, I say to those who deal with farmers that between now and 2006 the slice of the purse given to Irish farmers will not change, with or without enlargement and with or without Nice. Senators are aware of the rí rá and ruaille buaille happening with regard to whether there will be a mid-term review of the Common Agricultural Policy and I do not know the answer. It is a negotiated system and we are not at the end, but because it is a negotiated order the things Irish farmers can give their political representatives in Europe are in their hands in the referendum on the Nice treaty. Those things are the powers of influence and goodwill and the power to raise friends or to blow friendships. They hold in their own hands the real key to their interests because this is a negotiated order and goodwill matters in such a system. It is true that new countries are perceived by many farmers as competitors for the purse, but they are also countries like us with respect for a rural life and agricultural traditions. They are allies of the future in the negotiated order in maintaining a focus on rural life and on an important and prominent role for agriculture in the European Union.

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.