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Agriculture has to be ready to contribute to Irish and European climate targets and the urgency of the climate challenge “has never been greater”, the next European Commissioner for Trade Phil Hogan has said.
At Friday's ASA conference in the Lyrath Estate, Co Kilkenny, he said that he wants to help farmers to be part of the solution and he asked farmers to embrace it.
“It’s not going away. The sooner we embrace this agenda the sooner we’ll be global leaders” in climate change, he said.
Whatever challenges there are in society, the commissioner said that farmers have to be part of the solution and they have to be paid for it.
Brexit
On Brexit, Commissioner Hogan said there is still “no clear pathway” towards finding a solution.
He said that EU solidarity with Ireland “remains absolute and unwavering”.
“The EU negotiators have recognised the unique exposure of Ireland from day one and this will continue whatever happens on 31 October.
“We can still do a huge amount in the coming weeks to mitigate the worst effects, getting the job done as Mr Johnson says,” he said, adding that it “takes two to tango” and it has to be the right deal for Ireland and the EU.
EU budget
The commissioner said that he and those in Brussels have spent “torturous hours” trying to agree the next European budget and that now the ball is in the court of member states and the European Parliament. He said discussions on the budget have been “allowed to drag on for far too long” and member states need to know what the final budget will be so they can plan for the future.
CAP
He said that between now and the end of the year, there will be political agreement on the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
“Hopefully by December, [European] Council will have some sense of clarity and be able to plan for the future.”
He said good progress has been made in recent weeks on agreeing the next CAP, with it moving to a performance- and results-based approach, while enhancing the climate and environment ambition.
China
The incoming commissioner for trade said that Europe’s “focus in trade must be on China”.
“China has a 10m tonnes of a deficit in protein. There is 8m tonnes of beef produced in Europe annually … it has to be China. If we can get some of that offloaded to China, which could be displaced in the UK, if we achieve that it will be a step in the right direction.
“We’ve a fight on our hands but look forward to matching that fight,” he said.
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