Brussels, 23/01/2012 (Agence Europe) - The reform of Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) will dominate the work of the Agriculture Council during the first half of 2012, the Danish Minister Mette Gjerskov confirmed on Monday 23 January, the day on which the European Commission launched the CAP @ 50 communication campaign to mark the 50th anniversary of the CAP. This communication campaign, which will run for a year, will include an interactive website, travelling exhibition, audiovisual materials and paper documentation and will come with a series of events which will take place in Brussels and in the member states.
“Back in 1962, Europeans were predominantly worried about having enough food on their plates. Today, food security remains important, but we also have new concerns such as climate change and sustainable use of natural resources. This campaign will help to reflect on this evolution”, said Dacian Ciolos, Commissioner for Agriculture, on the 50 years of the CAP.
“The Danish Presidency intends to lay the foundations for the new building which will be the renewed CAP”", said the Danish minister for agriculture, Mette Gjerskov, when presenting the priorities of the next six months to the Council. The Presidency's goal is to develop “all the foundations for this renewed policy” within the various working groups and the SAC (Special Agriculture Committee) and to present a progress report in June, before handing over the baton to the Cypriot Presidency.
The Presidency intends to focus on respect for high standards in food safety. It hopes to lead the Council to an agreement with the European Parliament before the end of June on: - the proposal on food for infants and young children, and food for special medical purposes; - the food quality package. Additionally, the Presidency hopes to lay emphasis on resistance to antimicrobials and the use of antimicrobials in human and veterinary medicine. Mette Gjerskov pointed out that 25,000 people die every year due to this resistance to antibiotics. She feels that it is now necessary to “review our policy of using antibiotics in both human beings and in animals”, she said (a conference on the subject will be held on 14 and 15 March). Additionally, 2 and 3 February will see a conference on meat control systems (the Presidency is arguing in favour of a modernisation of these control systems, to come into line with a more risk-based methodology).
Lastly, Denmark wishes to emphasise the protection and well-being of farm animals (conference in Brussels on 29 February and 1 March).
Challenges ahead
Dacian Ciolos described the Danish programme on agriculture as “ambitious, but absolutely necessary”. On the reform of the CAP, he said: “I hope that we will be able to make progress under the Danish Presidency, beyond the budgetary issue, on which a response will be sought in the second half of 2012. We must also start dialogue with the European Parliament to prepare the ground for the final decision”.
He referred to some of the challenges to be dealt with over the next few months: - results “are required” on the horizontal approach to aligning the texts of the CAP on the Treaty of Lisbon (“the outlines of a compromise were sketched out at the last trialogue, meaning that we need to make a final effort to resolve these issues”); - on the quality of agricultural products package, discussions will now focus mainly on issues to do with volume control; - on imports of high-quality beef (quotas of meat from the United States and Canada in the framework of the now resolved conflict on hormone-treated beef), the legislative procedure is expected to be concluded on the Danish Presidency (at stake: an increase of 21,500 tonnes in quotas initially and 48,200 t in the second phase). In spring 2012, the Commission will present a communication on the policy for the promotion of agricultural products.
Aid to the poorest
On Monday 23 January, the Council formally adopted the regulation which will allow the programme of distribution of food to the poorest people in the EU to continue in 2012 and 2013 (EUROPE 10517). However, in line with a Franco-German compromise, this CAP-funded programme will be cancelled at the end of 2013. The new provisions of the programme extend the range of foods concerned: market purchases can add to intervention stocks, on which the programme has been mainly founded so far. The programme gives priority to products originating from the EU. It will be funded by the EU in full. The programme has an envelope of 500 million euro per year in 2012 and 2013. More than 18 million European citizens currently benefit from the programme. The regulation will apply retroactively, starting from 1 January 2012. (LC/transl.fl)