Mullooly slams EU mission to cut promotion of agricultural produce

Independent Ireland MEP, Ciaran Mullooly, has strongly condemned the recent proposal from the European Commission to reduce the Promotion Budget and 2025 Annual Works Programme for agricultural produce by 50%, stating: “This proposal must be rejected and when Council representatives meet in September there must be unanimous opposition to it.”

  “This proposal is not in line with the Commission’s commitment to support EU family Farmers,” said MEP Mullooly: “These farmers are the backbones of rural communities and depend greatly on this co-funding from the EU to see their produce promoted internationally.

  “On July 18th, the then Commission President candidate Ursula von der Leyen, in her pre-election address to the incoming European Parliament vowed to make sure that farmers receive a fair income if she was re-elected as president of the European Commission. 

  “As we know, Ms von der Leyen was re-elected as President of the Commission, albeit without my support, and straight out of the traps we have a proposed cut. It beggars belief that this deviation is in keeping with her vow to ensure farmers receive a fair income.

  MEP Mullooly confirmed today (Wednesday) that he will be proposing an amendment to the Commission’s proposal at the next European Parliament Agriculture Committee meeting and will be seeking support from other MEPs on the AGRI Committee: “We can not allow the Commission to make any reduction in the budget for promoting and supporting EU agricultural products.

  “The present programs have been used successfully by Bord Bia, in conjunction with other EU countries’ food marketing boards, and a proposed cut of 50% is simply unacceptable at a time when farmers are on their knees.

 The IFA has confirmed that the EU budget in 2024 is approximately €186 million and will be fully utilised. According to MEP Mullooly, the proposed cut “must be opposed” and he said that he would be corresponding with his party colleagues Michael Fitzmaurice TD and Michael Collins TD advising them of the proposed changes and informing them of my opposition and plan of action to make amendments at a European level. 

  Both Deputy Collins, Leader of Independent Ireland and Deputy Fitzmaurice sit on the Oireachtas Agriculture Committee and have highlighted the issue of EU trends favouring importing lower quality produce such as Brazilian beef from outside the EU at a national level for some time now. Fitzmaurice said he: “Conmmends MEP Mullooly on his judgement in not supporting Ursula von der Leyen as EU Commission President as she promised everything to get elected and now has turned her back on those vowes. 

  Concluding his remarks, Fitzmaurice said: “Brazil intends to increase its national herd by more than the total current national herd of Ireland by 2030. The result is that the EU obviously intend to stop promoting EU-produced agriculture products leaving consumers little or no choice but to buy imported food stuffs.”