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Agriculture and Rural Development Commissioner Phil Hogan has pledged to provide Ireland with EUR 50 million in extra funding from EU resources, complemented by an additional EUR 50 million from national IE resources to compensate for the losses caused by the UK leaving the EU. Member States should vote on the approval of the financial support on 20/06/2019, one of the conditions for the payment of the support should be the reduction of the Irish dairy herd and the restructuring of the beef and veal sector. However, Irish farmers' representatives (IFA) rejected the condition to reduce the number of bovine animals, arguing that a number of producers have already been affected by the fall in prices due to the uncertainty related to Brexit. Representatives of agricultural organizations in Denmark and the Netherlands have spoken out against extraordinary support for Ireland only, stating that by Brexit, not only the Irish beef market, but also markets in other Member States will be negatively affected. Therefore, DK and NL representatives have asked the European Commission to clarify whether other EU Member States may apply for support in their efforts to maintain competition rules.

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Cecilia Malmström, Commissioner for Trade, said last week that the trade agreement with Mercosur was an EU trade priority. She pointed out, however, that agricultural issues and quotas would only be discussed at the very end of the negotiations. According to the EC President, Jean-Claude Juncker, the negotiations are difficult, he said the EU would have to make concessions on beef, sugar and ethanol. However, France continues to disagree with other EU concessions on agriculture and calls for a safeguard clause to protect European farmers.

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As part of its Presidency ending on 30/06/2019, Romania sought to reach a partial general agreement on the CAP post 2020. After the informal Council of Ministers in Romania that took place on 02-04/06/2019, due to unwillingness of many EU Member States (NL, DE, DK, LT, BE, ES, SE, LU, FR, IE, MT) Romania has abandoned its plans, Romania's agricultural output will only be the Council's progress report. In the partial general agreement, Romania sought to reduce the frequency of annual checks on the implementation of the National Strategic Plans to inspections every two years, as well as changes in eco-schemes which, according to Romania, could be voluntary not only for farmers but also for Member States. If eco-schemes were to be mandatory for Member States, Romania wanted to ensure maximum flexibility for Member States. The progress report will be presented on 18/06/2019 at the last Council of Ministers under the Romanian Presidency.

Agriculture and Rural Development Commissioner Phil Hogan said that the European Commission is preparing to set up rules for a transitional period in the context of delays in CAP negotiations. However, it is still possible that if neither the EU Council nor the European Parliament concludes its position on the CAP before the change in Commissioners in the European Commission, the new Commissioner may decide to withdraw the CAP legislative proposals presented by Commissioner Hogan and start to work on a new proposal.

On 18/6/2019, the EU General Affairs Council will discuss progress made in the negotiations on the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), the EU budget post 2020. One of the issues discussed is the external convergence, which is sought to be achieved especially by Eastern European countries. One of the options the ministers are working with is the European Commission's proposal that all Member States with direct payments below 90% of the EU average should continue the process that was launched in 2014-2020 and close 50% of the existing gap to 90%. The Latvian Minister of Agriculture Kaspars Gerhards rejected the Commission's proposal, stating that by doing so, Latvia would reach the average of direct payments per hectare in 2069. Another option is not to continue in achieving external convergence, which is however an option refused by the Baltic States. According to interim development, the capping of direct payments should, according to the ministers, only be voluntary and, if implemented, should only apply to basic income support for sustainability. Eco-schemes, support for young farmers, coupled payments and redistributive payments should therefore not be included in the capping even if a Member State decides to introduce it.

During the informal Council of Ministers on 04/06/2019, agriculture ministers discussed, besides the question of achieving a partial general agreement on the CAP (above), also bioeconomy and circular economy, with the aim of supporting the development of rural development programs. Romanian Minister of Agriculture Petre Daea said that research and bioeconomy are an important element in seeking to mitigate the impact of agricultural policy on the climate and environment. Ministers agreed that the European Commission and EU Member States must intensify their efforts to develop the full potential of bioeconomy, believing that bioeconomy should be seen as a holistic and strategic aspect of agricultural policy and should be combined with circular economy and the Horizon Europe program. According to representatives of SK and LV, it is necessary to reduce the administrative burden, representatives of NL, BE, BG, SE, UK and DL have supported strengthening investment in research and innovation. In this context, Portugal has rejected any cuts in the CAP budget, in particular the cuts in the second pillar. Strengthening efforts to develop the full potential of bioeconomy was also supported by Italian MEP Paolo de Castro (S&D), Europe's largest agricultural organization Copa and Cogeca, and the organization representing young farmers (CEJA).