Hogan’s EU agriculture portfolio a ‘significant coup’

Phil Hogan's appointment as the next EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development is a significant coup for Ireland.

While it is true that most of the work on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) until 2020 has already been completed last year, agriculture is still a significant player in EU politics, controlling more than a third of EU spending, with the total budget for agriculture between 2014 and 2020 coming in at more than €360 billion.

It is also a politically contentious one. While countries such as Britain have long criticised the CAP subsidy system as being outdated, while environmentalists have criticised its green credentials, the portfolio is a highly significant one for countries as diverse as France, Spain and Romania.

While most of the technicalities on CAP reform have already been agreed, Mr Hogan assumes the portfolio at a significant time. The recently-imposed sanctions on EU exports into Russia, including fresh produce and fish, are having a significant effect on EU farmers, from apple-growers in Denmark to mackerel producers in Latvia.

The expectation that the EU is entering a stalemate period in its diplomatic relationship with Moscow over Russia’s incursion into Ukraine suggests that these sanctions could be in place for the medium to long term.

Another issue that will come across the desk of Mr Hogan is the ongoing talks on the EU-US trade deal, an ambitious project that is facing a significant public backlash in countries such as Germany, France and Austria. Agriculture will play a significant role in the negotiations, with Irish farmers already raising concerns.

In Brussels this morning, the appointment of Phil Hogan as agriculture commissioner was one of the few certainties ahead of the announcement.

Among the most significant announcements was the assignment of the economics portfolio to France, despite resistance from Berlin over France’s repeated failure to meet EU budget targets.

The announcement that former French finance minister Pierre Moscovici will succeed Olli Rehn as EU economics commissioner came just hours after new figures showed that France had met its EU budget deficit targets again.

However, the fact that his portfolio will also include tax could be an issue for Ireland given France’s traditional concerns over Ireland’s corporate tax rate. But anyone looking for a possible shift in the EU’s economic policy away from an emphasis on fiscal austerity and towards greater flexibility and investment will find succour in Moscovici’s appointment.

Britain has also succeeded in securing the financial services portfolio, a major coup for David Cameron in light of the ongoing tensions between the City of London and Brussels over EU oversight of financial services law and bank remuneration.

The assignment of the European Union's Competition portfolio, one of the most senior EU positions, to Denmark was unexpected, while Germany will now take over responsibility for the 'Digital Agenda', an increasingly politically-fraught portfolio given concern about EU regulation of US digital companies such as Google and Facebook, particularly in Germany.