An Irish MEP has said that some climate change targets set by the European Union for the agriculture sector should be temporarily postponed.

Fine Gael representative Colm Markey explained that this will allow farmers to divert their efforts to ensure food security across the European Union.

The comments come as the Russian invasion of Ukraine has intensified in recent days.

The Ukrainian National Agrarian Forum (UNAF) told a meeting yesterday (Wednesday, March 9) with European farming body Copa-Cogeca that farmers in the country were experiencing a lack of fuel, seeds and other inputs.

The Ukrainian government has banned the export of rye; barley; buckwheat; millet; sugar; salt; and meat until the end of the year as a result of the war.

The country already has measures to limit the export of wheat, corn, sunflower oil, poultry and eggs due to food security concerns.

Climate change targets

Irish MEP Colm Markey has said that the war in Ukraine may mean changing priority away from climate target policies embedded in the likes of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the EU’s Farm to Fork strategy.

The Midlands North-West MEP was part of a European Parliament group that sent a letter to the European Commission yesterday calling for an “urgent” review of the EU’s approach to food security because of the war in Ukraine.

They said that the review is needed to reduce the EU’s dependence on imports and to increase domestic production.

“At European level, there is a need to look at the CAP and the Farm to Fork. Particularly the targets within Farm to Fork that are reducing the level of use of fertiliser and pesticides and things like that.

“It’s not to do away with these policies, but merely to temporarily postpone them to address this situation.

“This isn’t just about European food security, it is about global food security,” Markey told EuroParlRadio.