merrion street

The Minister for Agriculture Food & Marine, Michael Creed, welcomed his French counterpart, Mr Stephane Travert to Cork for a two day visit to Ireland. Both Minister’s met for discussions this morning in Cork City.

Speaking after the meeting Minister Creed said;

France, similar to Ireland, has a significant agri-food sector therefore shares many of the same concerns that we do. This visit provides an opportunity to engage with a significant EU voice on matters of vital importance to Ireland such as the reform of the CAP, Brexit and Mercosur. We are on one voice on the matter of the need to increase the proposed CAP budget. We agreed to continue to work closely together on seeking consensus across Member States on the budget as well as on developing common ground on the detail of the published regulations.

Commenting on discussions on Brexit the Minister continued: 

There is a shared frustration at the lack of progress in the Brexit negotiations. Significantly Minister Travert reiterated French support for the prevention of a hard border on the Island of Ireland. He also voiced support for our efforts in ensuring that products that access the EU via land-bridge through the UK are not disadvantaged by Brexit. We share a strong consensus on the EU Taskforce approach to Fisheries and on the continuation of the tripartite agreement on the transport of equines. Finally, I also made clear, Ireland’s continued opposition to the inclusion of beef in the context of any EU-Mercosur Trade Agreement.

Both delegations visited the Jameson Experience in Midleton this afternoon. On Sunday Minister Travert will be a guest of Minister Creed’s at the Munster Senior Hurling Final in Thurles between Cork and Clare.