Relevant Matter
Matters involving public funds
Public Policy Area
EU Affairs
Period
1 May. 2026 to 31 Aug. 2026
Specific Details
European Competitiveness Fund (ECF)
Intended results
To write to Irish MEPs to share the enclosed Copa-Cogeca amendments (of which IFA is a member) and ask for their support in their adoption to better acknowledge and advance, through dedicated allocated funding and fair governance rules for the participation of agriculture actors.
That the integral role of EU Agriculture and Food Security as a core pillar of EU Competitiveness and Security, spanning multiple domain and ECF priority areas are
• Clean transition and decarbonization
• Digital transition
• Health, biotechnology, agriculture and bioeconomy
• Security, defence and space.
To highlight that they complement in many instances the Compromise Amendments (CA) of COMAgri, and the Opinion by Rapporteur Fidanza, on the ECF
To stress that farmers and rural areas cannot do more, seek to innovate or advance competitiveness / current practices, with less dedicated support.
To emphasise that The common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has been continually eroded in real terms in successive reforms, and will be decimated further as currently proposed, hitting the economic, environmental and social standing of largely small-scale family farms and communities the length and breadth of rural Ireland. It is simply unacceptable.
To highlight that agricultural actors will need access to additional funding streams (ECF and elsewhere) outside CAP as it currently stands, to deliver meaningful supports and support progress in shared CAP and ECF priority areas.
To oppose any proposals seeking to eliminate the specific reference to “agriculture” and “bioeconomy” in the related policy window.
To ask for the support of Irish MEPs on these amendments and voice these concerns on behalf of Irish farmers at every opportunity.
To re-iterate IFA's concern over the proposal within the current draft ITRE report to replace the European Commission's proposed window on “Health, Biotech, Agriculture and Bioeconomy” (since supported by the Council) with a broader “Sustainable Prosperity” approach. This may potentially limit Agriculture's direct access to ECF support.
To stress that, at a time when the EU is seeking to strengthen its strategic autonomy, food security and industrial capacity, reducing the place of Agriculture within the ECF would send the wrong political signal and undermine one of Europe's key strategic sectors.
That, in this context, through engagement with the relevant rapporteurs on this file in your political group, we ask you to support the proposed amendments which seek to
1. Ensure that ‘Agriculture' is explicitly recognised among the overall objectives of the ECF (Art. 3(1));
2. Establish a strong and visible agricultural dimension within the ‘Health, Biotech, Agriculture and Bioeconomy' window (Art 3(2) and Art. 37);
3. Provide dedicated financial envelopes for agriculture within this window to ensure effective access to investment and funding opportunities (Art. 4)
4. Ensure that agriculture is adequately reflected across relevant ECF objectives and investment priorities (Art. 3(a)(c)(d) and Articles 33, 39 and 42)
5. Guarantee strong complementarity between the ECF and existing EU instruments to leverage investment and bridge the deployment and scaling gap faced by the agricultural sector (Art. 7 and 22).
To highlight that the competitiveness and sustainability of family farms and communities throughout rural Ireland has been hit by the continual erosion of CAP. Agricultural actors will need access to additional funding streams (ECF and elsewhere) to deliver meaningful supports, and support progress in shared CAP and ECF priority areas.
Name of person primarily responsible for lobbying on this activity
Francie Gorman IFA President, Liam MacHale IFA Director of European Affairs, Shane Whelan IFA Senior Policy Executive, Noel Banville IFA European Policy Executive
Did any Designated Public Official(DPO) or former Designated Public Official(DPO) carry out lobbying activities on your behalf in relation to this return? You must include yourself, and answer Yes, if you are a current DPO or a DPO at any time in the past. (What is a Designated Public Official?)
No
Did you manage or direct a grassroots campaign?
No
Was this lobbying done on behalf of a client?
No
Lobbying activity
The following activities occurred for this specific Subject Matter Area.
Informal communication (2-5)
Designated public officials lobbied
The following DPOs were lobbied during this return period on this specific Subject Matter Area. These DPOs were involved in at least one of the Lobbying Activities listed above, but not necessarily all of them.
As returns are specific to a Subject Matter Area the above Lobbying Activities may be associated with multiple returns.
Aodhán Ó Ríordáin
MEP (European Parliament)
Barry Andrews
MEP (European Parliament)
Barry Cowen
MEP (European Parliament)
Billy Kelleher
MEP (European Parliament)
Ciaran Mullooly
MEP (European Parliament)
Cynthia Ní Mhurchú
MEP (European Parliament)
Kathleen Funchion
MEP (European Parliament)
Luke Ming Flanagan
MEP (European Parliament)
Lynn Boylan
MEP (European Parliament)
Maria Walsh
MEP (European Parliament)
Michael McNamara
MEP (European Parliament)
Nina Carberry
MEP (European Parliament)
Regina Doherty
MEP (European Parliament)
Sean Kelly
MEP (European Parliament)