merrion street

The Minister of State for European Affairs Lucinda Creighton TD set out Ireland’s position on the future of EU Cohesion and Agriculture funds at today’s General Affairs Council in Luxembourg.

Speaking as part of negotiations on the EU budget over the seven years 2014-2020, the Minister said

“The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is a matter of great significance for Ireland, both economically and socially. The EU needs a strong and effective CAP, supporting vigorous consumer-focussed agricultural production.”

The Minister set out the key issues for Ireland in the negotiations: the size of the CAP budget, the mechanism for the distribution of funds and the “greening’ of proposals.

On the size of the CAP budget the Minister put forward Ireland’s position: “This heading is currently the one showing the most financial restraint. We think that the proposal to maintain CAP funding at current levels in nominal terms should be considered as a starting point for negotiations.”

The Minister also set out Ireland’s position on Cohesion Funds: “The future of cohesion policy must be framed in the context of the current economic downturn and increase in unemployment, particularly youth unemployment. The challenge for an integrated cohesion policy, indeed for all EU policy interventions, must be to deal with the crisis as a matter of urgency.”