NFU office most influential in Brussels
Decisions taken in Brussels and at the Welsh Assembly in Cardiff are very very important to Welsh farmers' future and thankfully for us in Brussels the NFU office is the most influential office on farming matters – that's what the newly elected Chairman of NFU Cymru for Carmarthenshire, Bernard Llewellyn, told local farmers recently at the county conference where Maeve Whyte, the Director of the NFU's Brussels office, was speaking.
"The NFU has the only office in Brussels which represents, on a daily basis, Welsh and UK farmers," said Maeve Whyte, who added, "We are there to find out what is going to affect Welsh farmers at a very early stage of the decision process so that we can try and shape minds and views. I am aware that some UK farmers feel 'Brussels' is a swear word as it is deemed that unnecessary regulation has stemmed from there, but I should say that it is the UK Government's interpretation of EU rules that farmers should aim their attention if they think they are getting an unfair deal."
One of the current big issues that Maeve and her team are working on in Brussels is the EU Commission's proposal to give the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) a 'health check'. The health check is intended as a series of interim adjustments to the CAP, designed to reinforce the 2003 reforms and prepare the way for further radical reform due in 2013.
Maeve told a packed audience at the Ivy Bush Hotel, Carmarthen that discussions were just starting on the issue.
She said, "The health check is not about fundamental reform but is meant to be just a case of tinkering around the edges and tweaking some points so that it is compatible with the evolution of the CAP in the longer term. The current CAP legislative framework is in place until 2013 as is the budgetary settlement, but beyond that the likelihood is for more far reaching changes."
NFU Cymru President, Dai Davies, a dairy farmer from St Clears, who was present at the meeting said, "In terms of the main pressures on the CAP, we believe that the budget will continue to be an issue. With the ever increasing size of the EU the diversity of Member State interests and needs will be a challenge in policy terms. Demands for greater subsidiarity to meet Member States' differing interests have the potential to distort competition, and maintaining production levels to take advantage of expanding markets whilst respecting environmental obligations will be testing.
"NFU Cymru is also concerned that EU Commission proposals provide the scope for Wales to move away from payments based on historical receipts towards a flatter rate system. We have witnessed the chaos and redistributional affects that a similar approach has caused elsewhere and do not want a repeat of it in Wales."
Bernard Llewellyn, Carmarthenshire NFU Cymru County Chairman, thanked Maeve for informing local farmers about the work she does in Brussels on their behalf and added, "Whether we as farmers like it or not the decision making process in Brussels is there to stay and it has a massive bearing on our day to day lives as farmers and we should be grateful that we have such a dedicated and respected team out there working specifically on our behalf."
