The European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Janusz Wojciechowski, is “showing an unbelievable lack of leadership” according to one of Ireland’s main farm organisations, the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association (INHFA).
Colm O’Donnell, the association’s president, was reacting to statements made by the commissioner this week at a video conference meeting of the European Parliament Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development.
“The commissioner has admitted that market intervention for the agri-food sector is required, and that there are legal instruments available to activate urgency procedures, yet he is sitting on his hands,” O’Donnell claimed.
We are waiting for clarity on what level of funding could be ring fenced for market disturbance when EU Leaders finally agree on the next seven-year Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) budget. This may or may not be signed off on at the next leaders’ summit on April 29.
“This is totally unacceptable and our Irish Government and Minister for Agriculture must hold him, and the EU Commission itself, to account,” the INHFA president argued.
O’Donnell confirmed that the INHFA has written to the commissioner, asking him to activate article 219 of the EU Common Market Organisation (CMO) regulation, which “makes provision for urgency procedures to be put in place to deal effectively with market disturbance”.
“This can be done as part of a recovery strategy to tackle the economic fallout experienced by farmers, including the primary producers of suckler beef and sheepmeat,” O’Donnell said.
This specific article of the CMO gives the agricultural commissioner the authority to access immediately whatever funds are necessary to address or prevent market disturbance.
“He can justify such action where intervention may prevent the threat materialising and turning into a more severe and prolonged disturbance,” O’Donnell pointed out.
“Delaying immediate action could threaten to aggravate the disturbance or increase the extent of the measures which would later be necessary to address the threat. Also, going forward this could be detrimental to production and market conditions,” he highlighted.
O’Donnell concluded by claiming: “Whatever rescue package materialises, the primary producers of suckler beef, sheep and lamb must be compensated for the sterilisation of their farm enterprises due to the EU’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.”