Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan resigns post

Mr Hogan insists that at the time he believed he was complying with the rules. The Commission Executive Vice-President for “An Economy that Works for People”, Valdis Dombrovskis (Latvia), will temporarily take responsibility for the trade portfolio until a new commissioner for Ireland can be appointed.

It is currently anticipated that following the appointment there will be a reshuffle of portfolios, with no guarantee that Ireland will retain the trade brief. The Irish government must now nominate two candidates – one male and one female – for the position of commissioner. Among those in the running are Ireland’s Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney and high-profile MEP Mairead McGuinness, who is currently a vice-president of the European Parliament.

The scandal also resulted in the resignation of Ireland’s Agriculture Minister Dara Calleary, who also was also present at the dinner attended by Mr Hogan. Mr Calleary had only been in post for a month, having replaced Barry Cowen after the latter was sacked following a drink-driving scandal. A new appointment to the post is expected this week.

Commission confirms Covid-19 aid schemes

The European Commission has approved a number of schemes aimed at supporting certain agricultural sectors affected by the Covid-19 crisis. In Ireland, the Beef Finisher Payment Scheme will give €50 million in the form of direct grants and will be available to farmers and companies active in the beef sector.

Cyprus has been given the go ahead to spend €500,000 on support for the pig sector, with money going to units where breeding sows are reared. The Commission

approved a Czech scheme for approximately €97 million in direct grants to go to companies particularly affected by the pandemic. The money is to be used to address liquidity shortages and will support projects related to employee training, childcare facilities and upskilling of caregivers, wage subsidies for jobs created for disadvantaged people or offered to previously unemployed people.

In Bulgaria, breeders of large and small ruminants and potato growers will have access to approximately €29 million. It will be available in the form of direct grants to cover the principal and interest on loans previously provided by the State Fund for Agriculture.

Airbus dispute continues

Last week at a Geneva meeting of the WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body, the US told the WTO that moves from the EU on Airbus subsidies are not enough to end the long-running dispute over support for the aircraft maker. The EU said at the meeting that it has made “additional and extraordinary compliance measures”, withdrawing all remaining subsidies to Airbus. This primarily involved amending loan agreements to the French and Spanish governments.

It was hoped that this would be sufficient action to end the dispute, which has resulted in significant tariffs being places on a number of agricultural goods (as well as other goods including textiles) from several EU members states and the UK.

However, the US representative at the WTO meeting reported that the measures are not enough, and that the US intends to start a new process with the EU to reach an agreement.

EU-UK Negotiations update

Negotiations between the EU and the UK have continued over the summer, with very limited progress. While there has been some movement on technical details, the sticking points of a level playing field, fisheries, judicial cooperation remain.

Following the last round in the w/c August 17, the EU’s Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier said that overall, it felt more like going backwards than forwards. He also reiterated that a deal must be agreed by October in order to allow time for ratification by EU27 national parliaments.