Brussels, 23/03/2010 (Agence Europe) - At the forthcoming Agriculture Council in Brussels on Monday 29 March, the Spanish Presidency will present a position paper on market management measures after 2013. The paper will reflect the debate on this issue among European ministers on 22 February (see EUROPE 10084). It will be in the form of conclusions from the various Presidencies which held debates on the future of the common agricultural policy (CAP).
At the Special Committee on Agriculture (SCA) on Monday 22 March, most delegations felt that the proposed text was a fair reflection of the debates that took place at the last Council. France, supported by Finland and Ireland, called for reference to the agricultural sector's strategic role to be made in the document and for all the sector can bring, in terms of sustainable growth and jobs, to the EU2020 strategy to be highlighted. The German delegation regretted that it could not recognise its position in the text, especially on the need to further improve market control and on the fact that new measures do not necessarily have to be brought in. The German delegation would also have preferred the implication in the text that more money would be needed to set up a financial mechanism to allow the EU to respond to crises to have been avoided.
The Spanish Presidency paper says, in short: - that most countries believe that market control in European agriculture (following the CAP reforms undertaken since 1992) is sufficient; these countries highlight the continuing need for an effective safety net in future, particularly in view of the increasing price volatility and market instability; - some ministers highlighted the need to consider new market management measures (income guarantee systems, strengthening producers' organisations and joint-trade cooperation, improving price transparency and the functioning of the food chain); - a substantial number of member states want the new CAP to set up a financial mechanism that will allow the EU to respond quickly to serious crises, and offering the necessary flexibility to react speedily in such cases.
EU agriculture ministers will, once again, discuss the future of the CAP at their informal meeting in Merida (Spain) on 30 May to 1 June. Thereafter, the Commission is expected to bring forward a communication on the CAP post-2013 at the end of the autumn this year, followed by legislative proposals in mid-2011. (L.C./transl.rt)