EU Farm Council should produce a tremendous victory for the European Parliament on Voluntary Modulation says Nicholson
Ulster Unionist MEP Jim Nicholson has said today that Monday’s meeting of the EU farm Council should produce a tremendous victory for the European Parliament and Northern Ireland’s farmers over the issue of voluntary modulation.
Farmers were faced with a 20% income cut if the UK agrees to the Commission proposal before the Parliament to cut the value of the Single Farm Payment and use the amounts released to fund rural development schemes.
Mr. Nicholson said it is his understanding that regionalization in the UK will be agreed therefore taking into account the circumstances facing farmers in Northern Ireland.
In a statement Mr. Nicholson said,
“It is becoming increasingly clear that both the Commission and the Council are about to pull back from a conflict with the Parliament’s Agriculture and Budget’s committee who are closely working together to achieve a better and more equitable agreement throughout Europe for the future of the Second Pillar.
“I am hopeful that now that a more equitable agreement on voluntary modulation is in sight. It is my understanding that regionalisation within the UK will be agreed and that National co – financing has been assured as far as England is concerned. What we do not know, at this point, is if co – financing will also be agreed for Northern Ireland. We now have a magnificent window of opportunity opening up to us, but we must grasp this and ensure that our farmers should not have any less a fair deal than any other part of Europe.
“I have to admit that after serving 17 years as a member of the European Parliament’s agriculture committee, this is a gratifying result. For the first time we can claim a real victory rather than on occasions in the past when we were reduced to merely huffing and puffing.
“The challenge now for Northern Ireland’s agriculture sector is to get to grips with EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel’s so called CAP “health check” and the implications it will have for Northern Ireland farming over the next 10 years.”