The new EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, Christophe Hansen, will visit Ireland for the first time since he has taken up the role later this month to address the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) Annual General Meeting (AGM).
Commissioner Hansen is likely to spend no more than a day in Ireland but it will mark one of his first official visits to a member state since he was appointed.
Hansen grew up on a family farm on the border between Belgium and Luxembourg and has stressed that he knows “the good times and the bad times of farming”.
He has acknowledged that “farmers are under pressure to carve out a living from their work” in the EU and that he intends “to be a boots on the ground commissioner”.
Commissioner
Commissioner Hansen has however also said that there needs to be “better policy coordination on topics such as climate adaptation, water resilience, animal welfare, and the many other initiatives that directly impact farmers and consumers”.
The issue of “water resilience” will be just one of the key areas that the IFA is likely to press the commissioner on during his visit, particularly against the backdrop of the ongoing campaign to retain Ireland’s nitrates derogation after 2025.
Francie Gorman, IFA president, said he is looking forward to also hearing what Commissioner Hansen’s latest position is on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), when he addresses the organisation’s 70th AGM in the Irish Farm Centre, Dublin on January, 23.
“IFA will use the AGM as an opportunity to raise our issues with the commissioner and make the case for a CAP that will work for Irish farming,” Gorman added.
He said Commissioner Hansen’s visit to Ireland will take place while there are significant issues on the EU agenda for 2025 that could impact directly on Irish farmers.
Gorman said these include the overall EU budget and the on-going debate on the Mercosur trade deal.