Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed has called on the European Commission to introduce flexibility for countries in the rules they must comply with under CAP.Specifically, Minister Creed wants to see more allowances for on-farm inspections, advance payment for farmers and the application of force majeure or exceptional circumstances clauses.
Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed has called on the European Commission to introduce flexibility for countries in the rules they must comply with under CAP.
Specifically, Minister Creed wants to see more allowances for on-farm inspections, advance payment for farmers and the application of force majeure or exceptional circumstances clauses.
Speaking after a special meeting of European agriculture ministers, the Minister Creed said the full range of supports available to the Commission must be deployed to support farmers and keep food supplies moving.
Sector supports
Along with greater allowances under CAP, he also called for specific sectoral supports and exceptional measures, which have been sought for by both the beef and dairy sectors.
Minister Creed stressed the need for the integrity of the single market to be maintained throughout to crisis to allow free movement of goods and labour across the EU. This is particularly important in ensuring the continued effective functioning of agri-food supply chains, he said.
Supply lines
“The key priority for all of us is to take the necessary steps to ensure that producers and processors can continue to operate effectively, that supply lines can be kept open, that we continue to feed people, and that the economic impact on the agri-food and fisheries sectors can be minimised.
“In this way, we can ensure that these sectors can not only survive, but also make a huge contribution to dealing with, the COVID-19 pandemic,” Creed concluded.
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