Irish MEP argues food security must be 'pillar of Europe's defence'
In the paper, seen by BreakingNews.ie, Mr Cowen argues that in a new era of heightened security concerns, food security must be recognised as a core pillar of Europe's strategic defence, with agriculture "deserving a protected share of broader security spending".
Advertisement
The European Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2028 to 2034 should include increased CAP funding, Mr Cowen says in the report.
"Announced by President von der Leyen, the ReArm Europe Plan alone allows for spending of over €800 billion by Member States and could see joint borrowing of up to €150 billion. These measures are aimed at reinvigorating the European defence sector and preparing for a worst-case scenario through stockpiling and strengthening borders.
"I regard these measures to be necessary, however, I also believe that the deep connection between food, food production, strategic
autonomy and our collective security is being overlooked in the conversation."
The paper was developed as part of Mr Cowen's role as Renew Europe's shadow rapporteur.
Advertisement
In the paper, seen by BreakingNews.ie, Mr Cowen argues that in a new era of heightened security concerns, food security must be recognised as a core pillar of Europe's strategic defence. Photo: PA Images
Central to Mr Cowen's
proposals is the creation of a third, standalone environmental pillar within CAP. This new pillar - backed by an increased CAP budget - would offer "meaningful rewards and incentives" to farmers who adopt voluntary environmental schemes and sustainable innovations.
On rural development, Mr Cowen proposes stronger financial and policy tools to address generational renewal - an "existential threat" to farming and rural communities. His proposals include higher income support for young farmers, improved access to land and finance and stronger public-private innovation partnerships to drive sustainability and technology adoption.
The paper further calls for major simplification across CAP delivery, advocating reduced administrative burdens and a shift away from the current "income foregone" payment model. He highlights that "excessive bureaucracy and a lack of practical usability were the number one issue raised with him by farmers during last year's European election campaign".
Mr Cowen engaged with stakeholders across Europe including farmers, young entrants, producer organisations, innovators, environmental experts and policymakers.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
9 minutes ago
- BBC News
EU and US agree trade deal, with 15% tariffs for European exports to America
The United States and European Union have reached a trade deal, ending a months-long standoff between two of the world's key economic make-or-break negotiations between President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen in Scotland, the pair agreed on a blanket US tariff on all EU goods of 15%. That is half the 30% import tax rate Trump had threatened to implement starting on Friday. Trump said the 27-member bloc would open its markets to US exporters with zero per cent tariffs on certain der Leyen also hailed the deal, saying it would bring stability for both allies, who together account for almost a third of global trade. Trump has threatened tariffs against major US trade partners in a bid to reorder the global economy and trim the American trade well as the EU, he has also struck tariff agreements with the UK, Japan, Indonesia and Vietnam, although he has not achieved his goal of "90 deals in 90 days".Sunday's deal was announced after private talks between Trump and Von der Leyen at his Turnberry golf course in South - who is on a five-day visit to Scotland - said following a brief meeting with the European Commission president: "We have reached a deal. It's a good deal for everybody.""It's going to bring us closer together," he der Leyen also hailed it as a "huge deal", after "tough negotiations".Under the agreement, Trump said the EU would boost its investment in the US by $600bn (£446bn), purchase hundreds of billions of dollars of American military equipment and spend $750bn on investment in American liquified natural gas, oil and nuclear fuels would, Von der Leyen said, help reduce European reliance on Russian power sources."I want to thank President Trump personally for his personal commitment and his leadership to achieve this breakthrough," she said."He is a tough negotiator, but he is also a dealmaker."The US president also said a 50% tariff he has implemented on steel and aluminium globally would stay in sides can paint this agreement as something of a the EU, the tariffs could have been worse: it is not as good as the UK's 10% tariff rate, but is the same as the 15% rate that Japan the US it equates to the expectation of roughly $90bn of tariff revenue into government coffers – based on last year's trade figures, plus there's hundreds of billions of dollars of investment now due to come into the US. How are trade deals actually negotiated?They made America's clothing. Now they are getting punished for itIn pictures: President Trump's private visit to Scotland Trade in goods between the EU and US totalled about $975.9bn last year. Last year the US imported about $606bn in goods from the EU and exported around $ imbalance, or trade deficit, is a sticking point for Trump. He says trade relationships like this mean the US is "losing".If he had followed through on tariffs against Europe, import taxes would have been levied on products from Spanish pharmaceuticals to Italian leather, German electronics and French EU had said it was prepared to retaliate with tariffs on US goods including car parts, Boeing planes and Prime Minister Keir Starmer plans his own meeting with Trump at Turnberry on will be in Aberdeen on Tuesday, where his family has another golf course and is opening a third next president and his sons plan to help cut the ribbon on the new fairway.
Glasgow Times
15 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
US-EU deal sets 15% tariff on most goods and averts threat of trade war
The announcement came after Mr Trump and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen met briefly at Mr Trump's Turnberry golf course in Scotland. Their private meeting was a culmination of months of bargaining, with the White House deadline of August 1 approaching for imposing punishing tariffs on the 27-member EU. 'It was a very interesting negotiation. I think it's going to be great for both parties,' Mr Trump said. The agreement, he said, was 'a good deal for everybody' and 'a giant deal with lots of countries'. Ms von der Leyen said the deal 'will bring stability, it will bring predictability that's very important for our businesses on both sides of the Atlantic'. Mr Trump said the EU had agreed to buy some 750 billion dollars' (£558 billion) worth of US energy and to invest 600 billion dollars (£446 billion) more in America, as well as making a major purchase of military equipment. Mr Trump played golf at his Trump Turnberry golf course in South Ayrshire (Jane Barlow/PA) The US leader said: 'We are agreeing that the tariff straight across for automobiles and everything else will be a straight across tariff of 15%. 'We have a tariff of 15%. We have the opening up of all of the European countries.' Ms von der Leyen said the 15% tariffs were 'across the board, all inclusive' and that 'indeed, basically the European market is open'. Before the meeting began, Mr Trump pledged to change what he characterised as 'a very one-sided transaction, very unfair to the United States'. 'I think both sides want to see fairness,' the Republican President told reporters. His EU Commission counterpart spoke of rebalancing. Ms von der Leyen said the US and EU combined have the world's largest trade volume, encompassing hundreds of millions of people and trillions of dollars. She added that Mr Trump was 'known as a tough negotiator and dealmaker'. 'But fair,' Mr Trump added. Together, the EU and the US are a market of 800 million people. And nearly 44 percent of global GDP. It's the biggest trade deal ever ↓ — Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) July 27, 2025 For months, Mr Trump has threatened most of the world with large tariffs in hopes of shrinking major US trade deficits with many key trading partners. More recently, he had hinted that any deal with the EU would have to 'buy down' the currently scheduled tariff rate of 30%. During his comments before the deal was announced, he pointed to a recent US agreement with Japan that set tariff rates for many goods at 15% and suggested the EU could agree to something similar. Asked then if he would be willing to accept tariff rates lower than that, Mr Trump said 'no'. Joining Ms von der Leyen were Maros Sefcovic, the EU's chief trade negotiator; Bjorn Seibert, the head of von der Leyen's Cabinet; Sabine Weyand, the commission's directorate-general for trade, and Tomas Baert, head of trade and agriculture at the EU's delegation to the US. The US and EU seemed close to a deal earlier this month, but Mr Trump instead threatened the 30% tariff rate. The deadline for the Trump administration to begin imposing tariffs has shifted in recent weeks but is now firm, the administration insists. Mr Trump hailed the deal (AP) 'No extensions, no more grace periods. August 1, the tariffs are set, they'll go into place, Customs will start collecting the money and off we go,' US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick told Fox News on Sunday. He added, however, that even after that 'people can still talk to President Trump. I mean, he's always willing to listen'. Without an agreement, the EU said it was prepared to retaliate with tariffs on hundreds of American products, ranging from beef and car parts to beer and Boeing planes. If Mr Trump eventually followed through on his threat of tariffs against Europe, it could have made everything from French cheese and Italian leather goods to German electronics and Spanish pharmaceuticals more expensive in the United States.
Western Telegraph
15 minutes ago
- Western Telegraph
US-EU deal sets 15% tariff on most goods and averts threat of trade war
The announcement came after Mr Trump and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen met briefly at Mr Trump's Turnberry golf course in Scotland. Their private meeting was a culmination of months of bargaining, with the White House deadline of August 1 approaching for imposing punishing tariffs on the 27-member EU. 'It was a very interesting negotiation. I think it's going to be great for both parties,' Mr Trump said. The agreement, he said, was 'a good deal for everybody' and 'a giant deal with lots of countries'. Ms von der Leyen said the deal 'will bring stability, it will bring predictability that's very important for our businesses on both sides of the Atlantic'. Mr Trump said the EU had agreed to buy some 750 billion dollars' (£558 billion) worth of US energy and to invest 600 billion dollars (£446 billion) more in America, as well as making a major purchase of military equipment. Mr Trump played golf at his Trump Turnberry golf course in South Ayrshire (Jane Barlow/PA) The US leader said: 'We are agreeing that the tariff straight across for automobiles and everything else will be a straight across tariff of 15%. 'We have a tariff of 15%. We have the opening up of all of the European countries.' Ms von der Leyen said the 15% tariffs were 'across the board, all inclusive' and that 'indeed, basically the European market is open'. Before the meeting began, Mr Trump pledged to change what he characterised as 'a very one-sided transaction, very unfair to the United States'. 'I think both sides want to see fairness,' the Republican President told reporters. His EU Commission counterpart spoke of rebalancing. Ms von der Leyen said the US and EU combined have the world's largest trade volume, encompassing hundreds of millions of people and trillions of dollars. She added that Mr Trump was 'known as a tough negotiator and dealmaker'. 'But fair,' Mr Trump added. Together, the EU and the US are a market of 800 million people. And nearly 44 percent of global GDP. It's the biggest trade deal ever ↓ — Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) July 27, 2025 For months, Mr Trump has threatened most of the world with large tariffs in hopes of shrinking major US trade deficits with many key trading partners. More recently, he had hinted that any deal with the EU would have to 'buy down' the currently scheduled tariff rate of 30%. During his comments before the deal was announced, he pointed to a recent US agreement with Japan that set tariff rates for many goods at 15% and suggested the EU could agree to something similar. Asked then if he would be willing to accept tariff rates lower than that, Mr Trump said 'no'. Joining Ms von der Leyen were Maros Sefcovic, the EU's chief trade negotiator; Bjorn Seibert, the head of von der Leyen's Cabinet; Sabine Weyand, the commission's directorate-general for trade, and Tomas Baert, head of trade and agriculture at the EU's delegation to the US. The US and EU seemed close to a deal earlier this month, but Mr Trump instead threatened the 30% tariff rate. The deadline for the Trump administration to begin imposing tariffs has shifted in recent weeks but is now firm, the administration insists. Mr Trump hailed the deal (AP) 'No extensions, no more grace periods. August 1, the tariffs are set, they'll go into place, Customs will start collecting the money and off we go,' US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick told Fox News on Sunday. He added, however, that even after that 'people can still talk to President Trump. I mean, he's always willing to listen'. Without an agreement, the EU said it was prepared to retaliate with tariffs on hundreds of American products, ranging from beef and car parts to beer and Boeing planes. If Mr Trump eventually followed through on his threat of tariffs against Europe, it could have made everything from French cheese and Italian leather goods to German electronics and Spanish pharmaceuticals more expensive in the United States.
