IFA National Sheep Committee Chairman Henry Burns met the French Minister for Agriculture Mr Barnier in Paris together with Mr Liam Aylward MEP and a delegation of French Sheep Industry representatives.

Henry Burns said Mr Barnier was extremely strong in his opposition to the Mandelson WTO proposal saying, “no deal is better than a bad deal.”

In conjunction with Liam Aylward MEP, the IFA Sheep Chairman presented a detailed set of proposals on the sheep sector to Minister Barnier.

These proposals included increased promotional funding for sheep meat, EU labelling and branding, opposition to any increase in EU sheep meat imports under WTO and increased direct supports for sheep. The French Minister told Henry Burns he will organise a major sheep conference involving all of the main EU sheep producing countries and their Ministers in France in early September.

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