Funferal

Petitions, farmers, aid and AIDS

An interesting story in the Guardian today about a Europe-wide petition calling for some CAP funds – specifically half of those going to the top 2% of farmers, or 12.5% of the total funds – to be instead allocated to help children orphaned by AIDS in Africa. The petition is using a feature in the probably-soon-to-be-implemented EU Constitution whereby a petition signed by 1 million EU residents automatically triggers debate of the issue by the EU Council of Ministers. It will be interesting to see what happens with this – and how it is received in Ireland where the farming lobby is particularly strong.