ICOS warmly welcome the fact that Irish MEPs are represented strongly in the formation of the new European Parliament agriculture committee.

The long serving member Mairead McGuinness makes her expected return, and will juggle the role with her election as a vice president of the overall Parliament.

She will be joined in the committee by her two constituency colleagues Matt Carthy and Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan who are members of the left leaning GUE/NGL grouping.

We hope that the trio continue to see the value and vibrancy of the user-owner co-operative dairy enterprise form that we have in Ireland.

Our members are looking towards an exciting period of growth. ICOS will endeavour to ensure regulation and red tape does not impact on this opportunity. But at same time we will drive for the retention of proper safety nets in the market to ensure that the family farm model, which is the engine of our dairy economy remains in place.

This policy will obviously extend to returning Agri members Jim Nicholson and Diane Dodds from Northern Ireland, who also have done good work in support of the agricultural economy of the island.

Polish EPP member Czesław Adam Siekierski has been elected chair of the committee.

ICOS will  also continue to strongly support our MEPs where ever possible across the other 21 EP committees, and we look forward to working with them all in critical policy dossiers such as trade, internal market, environment, employment, food safety, industry, to name but a few areas.