Honour the EU farm budget – NFU

THE NFU has told MEPs that the EU‘s agriculture budget needs to reflect the changing and expanding nature of European integration.

In a speech to the European People‘s Party union vice president Meurig Raymond also called for the Brussels financial ceiling, agreed in 2002 by the Heads of Government, to be honoured.

Proposals by some major states to reduce budgetary contributions could result in a decrease of up to 18% in rural development funding, he said as he spoke on Wed (Apr 13).

Such cuts could damage the EU‘s ability to meet its own commitment under the EU Treaty to ‘ensure a fair standard of living for the agricultural community‘ and to follow a model of sustainable agriculture.

Mr Raymond told MEPs that mandatory or voluntary co-financing would not address the fundamental issues and could lead to ‘big distortions of competition in the single market.‘