IFA President Addresses EU Agriculture Ministers on CAP Budget

IFA President Joe Healy is addressing the informal EU Farm Council meeting of Agriculture Ministers in Bulgaria today on the CAP post-2020 and the importance of an increased budget.

As Vice President, Joe Healy is deputising for the President of the European farm organisation COPA at the meeting. He will stress that proposed cuts to the CAP Budget are a major threat to farming and must be strongly resisted.

“The fundamental issue for farmers is the size of the CAP Budget. It is completely unacceptable that any cut is being contemplated when farmers are already struggling on low incomes and are being asked to do more under CAP proposals.”

The IFA President has called on the Agriculture Ministers, including Michael Creed, to make it clear that they cannot accept the Commission proposals on the CAP Budget announced last week.

Joe Healy said, “They must insist on a CAP budget that takes account of inflation and the cost of any additional measures imposed on farmers”.