Irish Agriculture Minister on Visit to Slovenia

Irish Agriculture Minister Joe Walsh arrived in Slovenia for a two-day visit on Tuesday, 28 October. The purpose of the visit was discussing the main issues in agriculture that the Irish EU presidency intends to tackle in the first half of next year, when Ireland is to take on the rotating presidency of the EU. Walsh was invited by Slovenian Agriculture Minister Franci But.

The conclusion of the common agriculture policy reform regarding what has been termed Mediterranean products will feature among top agriculture priorities of the upcoming Irish EU presidency, said Irish Agriculture Minister Joe Walsh.

Ireland's presidency, scheduled for the first half of next year, will also focus on questions concerning safe food and animal protection, the Irish agriculture minister told the press after his talks with his Slovenian counterpart Franci But.

According to Minister But, the pair agreed that reforms related to Mediterranean products, namely tobacco, cotton and olive oil, need to be carried out in a similar way to the reforms in stock breeding and field crop. This means that reforms are conducted simultaneously with the introduction of production non-related payments.

The two ministers also touched on the agriculture tasks Slovenia has to undertake before and immediately after entering the EU. One of key questions in Slovenia's adoption of the CAP is which principle to adopt in the distribution of direct payments.

The country has to choose between the system of regions and that of farms, with the former due to be introduced in 2005 and the letter in 2006 or 2007. When making the choice, Slovenia will take into account how much manoeuvre it has left in the negotiations on reference years, Minister But explained.

Also topping the agenda was rural development, which Ireland places among its priorities. Given that 1.5 million people of Ireland's population of 3.75 million live in the capital of Dublin, the government has been encouraging people to live in the countryside.

Worth EUR 4.8 billion, the rural development programme envisages infrastructure construction, environmental protection, distribution of compensations for less favourable conditions for agriculture and other.

Commenting on the Union's agriculture negotiations, the Irish official dismissed a possibility for reopening the negotiations. The new CAP has been negotiated upon and can only accept minor adjustments, Walsh suggested.

On the second and final day of his visit to Slovenia, Irish Agriculture Minister Joe Walsh held a meeting with Foreign Ministry State Secretary Andrej Logar that was dedicated to bilateral ties and EU matters. Logar highlighted the good relations between Ireland and Slovenia and stressed that Slovenia was interested in upgrading economic ties.

Minister Walsh, who paid the visit at the invitation of Slovenian Agriculture Minister Franci But, presented the advantages that membership of the European Union brought for Ireland, the Foreign Ministry said in a press release.

Exchanging views on developments in the inter-governmental talks on EU reforms, Logar acquainted the guest with Slovenian views on EU's future. He also highlighted the priorities in which Slovenia wishes to be particularly active, including future EU enlargements, the Lisbon Strategy and the common agriculture policy.

The state secretary underscored that Slovenia was looking forward to taking part in preparations for the formation of the next EU financial framework. In line with its endorsement of further enlargement of the EU, Slovenia would like to see goals of enlargement remain clearly defined in the future budgets.

Source: Slovene Press Agency STA