The Commission's proposals represent a timely acknowledgement of the interests of consumers in EU farm policy, according to the Health and Food Safety Commissioner, Mr David Byrne.
"This is a reconciliation of the interests of consumers and farmers. The consumers haven't had much of a look in on the CAP up to now and their time has come," he said.
Mr Byrne, whose responsibilities include animal welfare, acknowledged that some Irish farmers would be wary of any change to the farm subsidy system.
But he urged the Government to examine the proposals carefully before adopting a position on them.
"I think they'll obviously have some concerns. I expect they'll be able to identify the benefits.
"It's new but I think when we've had an opportunity to reflect on this we'll see the benefits," he said.
The Commissioner stressed that the reform proposals would reward the production of high-quality food, and suggested that Irish farmers were well placed to take advantage of the changes.
"The farmers who adopt a positive approach to this will not lose. Farmers who are fed up filling out forms will benefit as well. It will guarantee farmers a stable income," he said.
Mr Byrne conceded that the timing of the reform proposals was not ideal in view of the forthcoming referendum on the Nice Treaty.
But he said that farmers should recall that they would not have benefited from the CAP at all if Ireland was not in the EU.
"Timing is never good but it's got to be done. You might have the odd farmer who feels annoyed by this. I hope he wouldn't vote No to Nice because of it," he said.
