Defra secretary Liz Truss is celebrating after gaining support from other EU member states for streamlining CAP audits. Truss was in Brussels for the EU Agriculture Council Meetings.

She gained the backing of 16 member states for changes to the audit system which would reduce the risk of penalties for farmers. Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan said he would consider the proposals.

In line with demands from Europe’s farming unions (leaders of the UK’s four largest unions met with the Defra secretary ahead of Council meetings earlier this week), Truss gained support for a range of other measures:

• improving the transparency of supply chains so that farmers can get earlier signals on price and demand to adapt their business models and target emerging opportunities - the Commission agreed to extend the successful EU Milk Market Observatory to beef and pigmeat
• assisting farmers with their overheads by reducing the cost of fertilisers - Commissioner Hogan agreed to look into this proposal
• helping farmers access finance to invest in their businesses and boost their productivity and competitiveness - the Commission agreed to prioritise engagement with the European Investment Bank to develop tools that could be made available to farmers
• an increased drive to open up new foreign export markets for British agriculture - The Commission committed to intensifying efforts to secure new market access

Commenting after the talks on Tuesday, Elizabeth Truss, said, “The package put forward by the EU Commission will help British farmers become more productive and competitive. The widespread support within the council for action to help farmers with the audit system and fertilisers also demonstrated the will within the EU to back agriculture and I look forward to working closely with Commissioner Hogan on these ideas.”

Truss, who is backing the campaign to remain in Europe ahead of the June referendum on the UK’s membership, used the opportunity to discuss the benefits of staying part of the Union. She said, “Inside a reformed European Union our farmers get the best of both worlds – not only do they have access to a tariff-free market of 500million consumers, but they also benefit from the collective effort of Europe to make the industry more competitive on the world stage and better able to manage price volatility.”

The environment secretary continued, “I want to capitalise on the growing interest in the provenance of high quality British produce. For example, for our dairy industry this means increasing manufacturing and processing investment in high-return products such as ice-cream, cheese and yoghurt. I know there are many dairy businesses in the UK that have great enthusiasm for adding value to the milk they produce.”