Brussels, 30/06/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 30 June, the chairman of the EP agriculture committee, Paolo De Castro (S&D, Italy), and Luis Capoulas Santos, S&D spokesman on agriculture, presented the first amendment of the S&D Group on the report by George Lyon on the future of the CAP after 2013. The Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats would like reform of the pillars. Capoulas pointed out that a majority in Parliament had adopted the two pillars as such with the possibility of redefining the content. Also, he said, an amendment is being presented to clarify matters, and the most important thing is the content, not the denomination, of the pillars. In the amendment, put forward by Capoulas on behalf of the S&D Group, the group “considers that existing agricultural policy architecture suffers from a lack of intelligibility and coherence which makes it difficult to understand for farmers and citizens in general”. He therefore believes consideration should be given to reorganising the two pillars by combining the Axis 2 measures under the rural development pillar, with direct aid under the first pillar “since their content increasingly overlaps”. Capoulas explained that a new model must be defined for aid to support farmers but that it is preferable not to speak of 1st and 2nd pillar as these are concepts linked to the past. He said they wanted a new system of integrated payments different from direct aid, which is associated with the first pillar.
The amendment, as well as the Lyon report, will be voted during the plenary in Strasbourg on 8 July. (C-C.G./transl.jl)