Ireland is one of 19 European member states set to receive official communication today (Thursday, March 31) from the European Commission in relation to its Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plan.
A spokesperson for the Commission told Agriland that observation letters will be sent to the 19 member states that submitted their strategic plans on time.
Along with Ireland, these observation letters will be sent to: Austria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
The observations are the result of an assessment involving all Commission services which examined:
- How member states identified their needs;
- The underlying evidence they used;
- The interventions they intend to implement;
- The targets they have set.
The commission said it will publish the observation letters once member states have had the opportunity to comment on them.
“We now expect the member states concerned to address the observations and submit a revised version of the plans,” the spokesperson said.
The commission will continue to support them throughout the different steps until the final approval and launch of the new CAP in January 2023, they added.
The spokesperson also stated that the commission will take into account the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on the agri-food sector, in line with its communication on food security adopted on March 23.
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), told Agriland that the commission has indicated that it will be open to changes that member states might wish to make to the CAP Strategic Plan in order to enhance the resilience of the sector.
“It has encouraged member states to use their plans to prioritise investments that reduce dependency on gas and fuel, and on inputs such as pesticides and fertilisers.”