Scots win European backing

Although Scottish farmers seemed to make little impression this week in arguing against proposals to “green” the forthcoming reform of the Common Agricultural Policy in putting their points to the EU agricultural commissioner’s department, their calls on the impracticality of some of the suggestions were echoed by other farming colleagues in Europe.

NFU deputy president Meurig Raymond called for “common sense” to be injected into the Commission’s plans at a meeting with MEPs in Strasbourg this week.

Raymond said the forthcoming policy had to recognise the greening efforts already under way on British farms and warned against measures which would hamper production and harm farm competitiveness.

This view was also back up by the leaders of the farming lobby organisations, Copa/Cogeca whose president Gerd Sonnleitner said the emphasis of the new CAP should be on production, efficiency and simplification.