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Twenty years after the Cork declaration of 9 November 1996 on "a living countryside" that established 10 principles "to make rural areas more attractive to people to live and work in", more than 300 delegates from the 28 EU member states are again gathered in the city this week, joined by observers from China and the US. The so-called Cork 2.0 conference is one of many forums organised these days to kick-start discussions on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) after the current system expires in 2020.
A recurring theme of the first day of the conference was that while the principles set out in 1996 remain valid, major events have radically changed the context in which future rural development policies will operate, especially in the past year.
European Agricultural Commissioner Phil Hogan listed several international agreements signed in 2015: the new sustainable development goals, the World Trade Organisation's Nairobi decision to phase out export subsidies globally and the Paris agreement on climate change.
The Brexit decision is going to have an input into these discussions, where there has been €7bn of net contributions from the UK to the EU budget
The impact of Brexit, too, was being felt in Cork this Monday. On the one hand, it will affect the EU's budget from 2020, which will start being discussed later this year: "The Brexit decision is going to have an input into these discussions, where there has been €7bn of net contributions from the UK to the EU budget. Are there going to be new instruments of funding for these programmes?" Hogan remarked, adding that this was a matter for the Council of EU national leaders to decide.
On the other hand, the rise of anti-European political sentiment illustrated by the Brexit vote is also pushing many delegates to call for more simplification and devolution in the way European rural development funds are managed. These represent €100bn from the EU's budget for the period 2014-2020, with another €61bn added by member states, to support actions including agri-environmental schemes and community programmes such as LEADER.
Slovakian agriculture minister Gabriela Matecna, who currently chairs the council of EU agriculture ministers, called for such simplification and said: "The CAP... can overcome differences between member states, but it must be explained to our citizens."
'Big ticket items'
Local MEP Seán Kelly told the Irish Farmers Journal that Brexit and climate change targets are "the big ticket items" shaping future CAP decisions. "I'm happy to see this conference seize the climate change agenda and how agriculture can address that, with innovative ideas that work in a cost-effective manner," Kelly said. He added that the next challenge would be to take this message to the wider European population and its elected representatives - "otherwise you'll be in a minority when trying to obtain funding," he warned.
One concrete area Commissioner Hogan insisted on was the "digital divide", with better telecommunication links needed to keep rural citizens engaged with the rest of society. "Rural area are still laggin behind when it comes to employment opportunities and the provision of infrastructure," he said.
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