Welsh farming faces £1bn cut in EU funding
Welsh farmers could lose up to £1bn of funding if proposed cuts to the CAP budget go ahead, the Welsh Government has warned.
Deputy minister for agriculture, Alun Davies, told the Enterprise and Business committee the loss could result from proposed cuts and changes to the formula for calculating the distribution of CAP and Structural funds.
Meanwhile the UK government’s call for further budget reductions could mean an additional loss in funding of hundreds of millions of pounds for Wales, he added.
“We recognise that the EU is facing significant budget pressures, but we are understandably concerned about these proposals, given that EU funds are critical to Wales in addressing the economic challenges we face and supporting a significant programme of change for Welsh agriculture,” said Mr Davies.
According to Mr Davies, the proposals discussed at a special EU budget meeting last November would see some of the EU’s poorest regions, like West Wales and the Valleys, face significant cuts in structural funds allocations, whilst wealthier regions could see significant increases.
“West Wales and the Valleys remains one of the poorest regions in Europe, yet it is regions like this which would suffer most, leading to less jobs and opportunities for growth, while prosperous regions would get wealthier,” he added.
He said he was determined to fight for a fairer deal and wanted to see EU funding kept at least at current levels for both the future Structural Funds and CAP.
Under the current seven-year funding round of Structural Funds, which is due to end later this year, Wales has benefited from £1.8bn of EU funding, generating £3.8bn of total investment for the Welsh economy.
“I am determined to continue to press Wales’s case with the UK government and the EU, reinforcing the need for a fairer deal. West Wales and the Valleys must be a top priority for UK negotiations on the Structural Funds. If a fair deal is not achieved then I will be asking the UK government to cover the potential loss to mitigate the risk to jobs and growth in Wales,” he added.
It is hoped that a deal will be reached early next month, which would mean the next round of European funding programmes could start early in 2014.
In the meantime a full public consultation by the Welsh government is currently underway on future investment priorities.
The deadline for responses to the public consultation is 23 April 2013.
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