MEP Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan has called on the government of Ireland to “immediately publish” the observation letter sent by the European Commission on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plan.
The Ireland Midlands North-West MEP said that decisions “cannot be made behind closed doors” when it comes to the CAP.
Ireland submitted its draft CAP Strategic Plan to Brussels in December.
As part of the ratification process for each national strategic plan, the commission makes observations on the plan and may request a member state to amend or improve aspects of the plan to meet the criteria set out in EU regulations.
“Ireland received its letter from the commission last week, in which it will have outlined its response to Ireland’s submission and where we need to improve or tweak the plan to meet the nine overarching objectives that form the foundations of the new CAP reform,” Flanagan said.
He said that some countries had already published the letters they had received.
“Sweden, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands have published their communication [from] the commission. In the interests of transparency, I am calling on Minister [for Agriculture] Charlie McConalogue to do the same as a matter of urgency.”
He stressed: “The CAP is a vital income support to all farmers. The new reform will have far-reaching implication on farm incomes.
“We cannot have decisions made behind closed doors. We need informed decision-making,” ‘Ming’ Flanagan concluded.
On Friday (April 1), it emerged that Ireland was being asked to review its CAP Strategic Plan for 2023 to 2027 in light of the war in Ukraine.
Nineteen member states, including Ireland, received observation letters last week from the European Commission in response to their draft plans.
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue said that “it is clear that the commission has carried out a comprehensive assessment of our draft Strategic Plan” and that the request to review the plan with the war in mind “is something we will reflect on further”.