Environmental campaigners are urging Ireland to protect the public interest and resist industry pressure as the country takes up the presidency of the EU Council.
The EU’s top agricultural polluter took the helm earlier this month (1 July) amid a wider push for deregulation that has left key green protections diluted, delayed or scrapped.
Over the next six months, Ireland will be charged with marshalling agreement between the EU’s 27 member states on a raft of policies that will be key to delivering on Europe’s climate goals — among them farm subsidies, the 2040 emissions reduction target, and the EU’s carbon market rules.
Under EU conventions, Ireland is required to be a neutral facilitator and “honest broker” throughout the presidency. But experts agree that the role offers a major opportunity to shape EU policy.
Among those planning to advance their own agenda are the powerful Irish farm lobby, which, as DeSmog has shown, has repeatedly lobbied against or sought to weaken climate policies affecting agriculture, such as emissions targets for the sector. So far, their demands for the presidency emphasise “simplification” — a shorthand for axeing regulatory burdens for business that critics say is a byword for slashing green rules.
