The CLA have urged the European Parliament to reach a decision quickly on President Barroso’s proposed Commission - including Dacian Ciolos, a surprise choice for Commissioner of Agriculture and Rural Development.
CLA President William Worsley said: "It is vital the new Commission is confirmed with the minimum of delay. The current interim arrangements, in which the Commission exists beyond its mandate, potentially leave the EU in a difficult position if important decisions have to be taken."
He went on: "One of the most important tasks before the new Commission proposed today by President Barroso will be to agree the direction and scale of the future Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
"The CLA and its European partners have been advocating that this policy should have an even more important role in coming decades, namely to provide for European Food and Environmental Security – both of which are threatened by population and economic growth and climate change."
Mr Worsley added: "It may seem a surprising choice to select a Commissioner from such a new Member State, especially given the undeveloped state of Romanian agriculture and the difficulties their authorities have had in satisfactorily implementing the CAP. However, with the expertise of Commission staff, the new importance of the European Parliament, and his own experience as a farm minister, Mr Ciolos should be well placed to steer the CAP through its next reform. We wish him every good fortune in this work."
