MEP ATTWOOLL WELCOMES CAP REFORM, BUT STILL 'NOT CONVINCED'

5.10.00pm GMT Tue 20th Nov 2007

Elspeth Attwooll, Lib Dem MEP for Scotland has given a cautious welcome to the Common Agricultural Policy "Health Check" presented today by the European Commission.

She says "For the most part this is good news for Scottish farmers, especially on the continuation of support beyond 2013, on dairy quotas, and on set-aside, provided its environmental benefits can be preserved. So, too is the move toward more compulsory modulation, as long as voluntary modulation is reduced in parallel.

I welcome any reforms which aim to simplify the current system, but I am not convinced that enough is being done to address the historical imbalances in rural development funding. And I have concerns, too, about the plans for capping. One particularly Scottish issue is the adverse effects that introducing this at the lower level could have for our crofting industry".