Commissioner hopes to consider Ireland's nitrates derogation request in a 'positive way'
The Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy, Jessika Roswall, today (Friday, November 7) said she is "fully aware of the importance of the derogation" to Irish farmers.
Commissioner Roswall spent today in Ireland meeting with Irish farmers, politicians, ministers and environmental organisations with one key issue on the agenda - water quality.
According to the commissioner what she "heard and saw" was positive and "constructive" discussions have helped her to see the progress that Ireland has made in relation to water quality.
"Sometimes it is too easy to make decisions from afar," she said.
Her visit comes at a critical stage in Ireland's campaign to secure a continuation of the nitrates derogation.
Commissioner Roswall said that she recognised that Ireland was committed to ensuring that any derogation continuation would apply with European Union law including the Habitats Directive and Water Framework Directive (WFD).
"The commission stands ready to support the Irish authorities and the farmers in this effort.
"In these commitments I hope that we can consider the request of the derogation positively.
"This decision is not mine alone, we need to seek approval from the other member states and take that proposal to the nitrates committee" the commissioner added.
Commissioner Roswall
According to the Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy while she was happy to come to Ireland and see for herself what both government and farmers were doing on the ground she could "not commit" to anything today.
"We are in discussions, we know the time pressures, we know that farmers and Irish authorities need clarity and to go away from uncertainty.
"What I have heard today, what I have seen is positive," she said as she also noted the "necessary changes that you have already done" in Ireland.
However Commissioner Roswall said while a lot of work has been done "more needs to be done" and that the comisssion would also assess the data they had received.
She warned that any nitrates derogation has to be "within environmental boundaries" but she recognised the strong commitment from agri-food stakeholders to improving water quality.
