Following the statement issued by the Deputy Minister for Agriculture Alun Davies yesterday requesting the farming unions issue a joint statement by the Royal Welsh Show on their views on CAP Reform FUW President Emyr Jones and Ed Bailey, President of NFU Cymru, have issued the following Joint Statement:
 
”Securing the best deal for Welsh agriculture from the CAP Reform negotiations is the key priority for both Unions. CAP Reform has been an evolving process for some time now and the publication of the European Commission proposals on 12 October was one further step on what will be a protracted negotiating process before final agreement is reached.
 
As Unions we are involved in a continual process of interpreting the reform proposals and lobbying to take forward the key priorities of our respective memberships. The Unions are committed to representing the interests of Welsh Agriculture in meetings with the Deputy Minister, to the National Assembly for Wales and in response to consultations issued by Welsh Government. We also sit on all relevant CAP Stakeholder groups set up by the Welsh Government to discuss the key priorities for Wales in terms of CAP reform.  Just this week the Unions provided oral evidence to the National Assembly of Wales' Task and Finish Group inquiry into CAP Reform.
 
Welsh Government and the Farming Unions need to be able to react to developments at an EU level whenever that may be. Our views on reform will evolve as the CAP reform process evolves, as the proposals are amended, as revised texts are published and most importantly in the light of what our members tell us. Our respective memberships rightly expect us to be constantly involved in representing their interests, and we will continue to do this up to and well beyond the Royal Welsh Show.”