Brussels, 17/11/2011 (Agence Europe) - European Agriculture Commissioner Dacian Ciolos took the floor to answer MEPs' questions on the future of the common agricultural policy (CAP) in Strasbourg on Tuesday 15 November.
Rebalancing aid. The aid reduction for some member states proposed in the reform in order to redistribute direct payments “will not exceed 6% of what is currently being received”, said Ciolos in response to concerns expressed by Nikolaos Chountis (GUE/NGL, Greece). The reduction was proposed in order to fund the increase in direct payments in member states where the average payments per hectare is below the European average. For Greece, average direct payments per hectare are above €350, and can even be as high as €400, whereas in some member states, such as the Baltic countries, direct payments per hectare are currently below €150. In Latvia, they even fall below €100. The Commission is proposing a transition period, phasing in the reduction until 2018. “This is a European Union principle, the principle of solidarity - and fairness, too, and it is on the basis of this principle that we proposed this rebalancing. Once again, we did things in such a way that the reduction would not be too quick nor too great so as not to have an irreparable effect on the farmers affected”, the commissioner explained.
New payment system. The Commission is proposing a uniform payment per hectare at regional level for the period after 2013: “comparable support for farms operating in the same agri-economic and climatic production conditions”, said Ciolos.
Reference years. The reference year for agricultural land eligible for aid payments will be 2014. The reference year for farmers who have the right to apply for this aid will be 2011, precisely to avoid speculation in 2012 and 2013 and to prevent farmers registering as having certain land purely with the aim of acquiring rights to grants, Ciolos told Sean Kelly (EPP, Ireland). The Commission has also made provision for including young farmers who set up in 2012 and 2013. The commissioner is aware that, in Northern Ireland for example, landowners are also farmers. “These are specific situations which have to be addressed in order to avoid speculation on one side or the other”, he acknowledged.
Greening of aid. Sajjid Karim (S&D, UK) was concerned about the effect of the proposals on greening 30% of direct aid. Ciolos said that there would be no duplication, since the greening of aid from the first pillar (direct aid) which the Commission was proposing “does not affect at all agri-environmental measures which are funded through the rural development programme and which are subject to contracts”. From 2014, under the new rural development programme, member states will be able to continue to apply agri-environmental measures since the budget for this programme will remain unchanged. First pillar greening is an overall European approach with three simple measures which will have no effect on what happens in rural development programmes.
The three greening measures proposed are maintaining permanent pasture, crop diversification for individual farms, and maintaining at least 7% of farmland as an “ecological focus area”.
Ecological focus area. Maintaining this 7% “does not mean taking 7% of arable land out of cultivation”, Ciolos said, responding to UK MEP John Stuart Agnew. It means that field margins, grass strips, sides of channels, roadsides, and wooded areas, which do not necessarily produce anything and which, under current regulations, are not eligible for aid, can also be maintained. The Commission proposes that, from 2014, this land should also be eligible and even encourages farmers to keep it because, alongside the productive arable land, these bits and pieces play an important role for biodiversity.
In response to a question from Paolo de Castro (S&D, Italy), the commissioner said that the proposal acknowledged the role of tree plantations in the environment “since the crop rotation measure has not been proposed”. However, the measure to keep 7% of farmland for ecological ends may also apply to tree plantations since the spaces between the rows of trees or at the plantation edges can be kept grassed. This is a system which works well with fruit trees, for example. Thus if, in an olive grove, there are areas at least every two or three rows that are kept grassed, this will not affect production and will mean that “trees will not have to be cut down”, the commissioner said.
Capping of aid. The proposed cap means that while, from 2014, direct payments to farmers will be seen as basic income support, with effect from a certain amount, for very large farms, “it is impossible to justify an unlimited amount of public money being paid as basic income support”, Ciolos said. For that reason, the Commission has proposed putting a €300,000 cap on direct aid and taking account of the jobs on the farms. Large farms will still be able to take advantage of other kinds of CAP measures to invest, modernise and innovate.
Milk. The commissioner said that the aim of the proposals on the dairy sector (still under negotiation between the Council and the Parliament) is to allow producers to negotiate price and amounts sold as part of fixed length contracts. This “will consequently provide a certain degree of security in terms of the markets. The dairy sector will still be supported financially through direct grants within the framework of the CAP”.
For dairy producers operating in less-favoured areas, member states will have the option of granting coupled aid to maintain milk production.
With regard to milk quotas, the commissioner says he is prepared to bring forward a report in 2014 assessing the situation in the sector before quotas are abolished in 2015. “If necessary, we will present new proposals for this sector to help it prepare for the ending of the milk quota system”.
Sugar and wine. Answering questions from Esther Harranz Garcia (EPP, Spain) Ciolos said that legislative proposals on the abolition of sugar quotas are already on the Council and Commission table (the Commission is proposing ending sugar quotas by 2015). The Council and Parliament, under the co-decision procedure, will, then, have the opportunity to make their views known on the Commission, position, the commissioner said.
With regard to the issue of vine planting rights, “a decision was taken during the reform of the wine sector by the Council. There has also been a Council regulation, which will end planting rights” by 2015, he said. Next year, however, the Commission will bring forward a report on progress in the reform of the wine sector. The Parliament and Council will be able to comment on this issue if they wish any amendments. “Personally, I am open to this question's being discussed and if it is possible to make a link between certain wine-producing areas, the quality of the wine and planting rights, I am ready for the matter to be re-discussed”, the commissioner added.
The Parliament, said Herranz Garcia, has called for vine planting rights to be maintained after 2015 and for sugar quotas to be kept until 2020.
Research, innovation. Commissioner Ciolos told Marit Paulsen (ALDE, Sweden) that innovation is a key element of the reform of the common agricultural policy. Innovation in agriculture and the rural environment will be supported not only by the CAP through its rural development programmes, but also through social innovation from the LEADER programme, which will be strengthened. In addition, one of the six European partnerships for innovation which the Commission is to propose will be aimed at agriculture, the agri-food sector and the rural environment. The communication on the European partnership on innovation will be published by the Commission in the coming weeks. (LC/transl.rt)