Clare farmers will be casting an anxious eye on Europe today as leaders from across the Union gather in Brussels for talks on a €1 trillion, seven-year budget to run from 2014 to 2020.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny is set to align himself with French president François Hollande in an effort to defend Ireland’s share of EU agriculture funding at the talks.
The government has repeated stated that the Common Agricultural Policy remains a top priority in the discussions
Despite weeks of gloom over the prospects for a deal on a new seven-year spending plan, official sources are reporting a slight pick-up in sentiment about the prospects for the summit.
The talks on a package worth some €1 trillion come amid pressure for budget cuts as a result of the economic crisis, threatening allocations for agricultural and cohesion policies.
