Brussels, 31/05/2012 (Agence Europe) - The Special Committee on Agriculture (SCA) also discussed the greening of agricultural aid on Tuesday 29 May.
The Danish Presidency of the Council of Ministers amended its proposals on the definition of permanent pasture (regulation on direct payments) to include more land under this category: - reintroduction of the term “herbaceous plant” in the definition of permanent grasslands; - affording countries the opportunity to include in this category pieces of land where grass and herbaceous plants are not dominant; - alteration of the definition of eligible hectares, giving member states the opportunity to apply a reduction factor in determining the area of the land for pasture which is part of local practice.
The delegations at the SCA broadly backed the Presidency proposals on the definition of permanent grasslands (this was the case for inter alia Germany, Italy, Ireland, Romania, Finland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom). However the countries of the South, including Spain, Italy and Greece, felt that their specific Mediterranean characteristics had not been sufficiently taken into account and that some permanent crops should be considered the same as permanent pasture in terms of environmental value. Some countries, such as France and Poland, preferred the previous definition proposed by the Presidency at the SCA meeting on 23 April.
The Presidency suggested that the requirements on maintaining permanent grasslands be applied, as now, at regional/national level with the option of applying a farm-by-farm approach in those regions or countries where the proportion of permanent pasture falls below a certain threshold (the requirements would be the same as now when proportions fall below 5% and 10% respectively). Furthermore, permanent pasture of over ten years (not subject to rotation) should become part of greening because of their high value for the climate and biodiversity. While most countries backed regional or national management of grasslands, many countries (Italy, Spain, France, the United Kingdom, Germany and others) posed questions on how pastures of over ten years might be built into greening practices.
Crop diversification. The Presidency reported on Council discussions: - the threshold above which these measures would apply should be raised from three to ten hectares; - flexibility for the second and third crop would seem to be a done deal; countries still argue for two crops and some suggest an incremental approach (larger farms should have more crop diversification); - member states support exemption from the crop diversification requirement for farmers who have a high proportion of permanent grasslands or fallow land; differences remain on exact proportions.
Definition of active farmers. Following the discussions at the last SCA meeting on 21 May, the Presidency said on Tuesday 29 May that there was wide support for its proposed compromise, slightly amending its previous version (see EUROPE 10619). In the latest version, countries will be free to opt for a negative list or apply objective criteria. The negative list may be added to by member states. Agricultural colleges have been removed from the negative list. The €5,000 threshold has become optional. At the request of several countries, including Spain and Belgium, the Presidency will state rather “up to €5,000”. Other countries (Germany, the United Kingdom and Bulgaria) believe that the negative list should refer to activities rather than people. Some (the United Kingdom and Italy) were concerned at the inclusion of hunting reserves in the negative list. The Presidency pointed out that the activities of those not considered to be active farmers must represent 5% of their income. (LC/transl.rt)