Progress made by the Romanian EU presidency on the European Commission’s proposals for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) post-2020 has been welcomed by Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine Andrew Doyle.
The minister was speaking after today’s Council of Agriculture and Fisheries Ministers in Luxembourg, which was the last under the stewardship of the Romanian presidency.
However, Minister Doyle noted in particular the need for considerable further technical work to be carried out on the CAP files before an agreed position can be reached by the council.
Focusing on CAP, the minister said: “The Romanian presidency has done a fine job in moving the CAP reform proposals forward over the last six months.
A lot of ground has been covered, and its progress report today reflects not just the areas in which progress has been made – but also those aspects that still require considerable further work before the council can arrive at an agreed position.
The minister noted that other factors are also at play, including the negotiations on the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework and the position that will be adopted by the new European Parliament.
“Nevertheless, the progress report represents a good basis on which to continue the work, and I wish the Finnish presidency, under the guidance of Minister Jari Leppӓ, every success in this regard over the coming months,” Minister Doyle concluded.