Brussels, 10/10/2012 (Agence Europe) - With the European negotiations on the multiannual financial framework 2014-2020 and on the definition of the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) about to enter a decisive phase, the French and German agriculture ministers on Wednesday 10 October stressed the importance of the CAP for “growth, employment, the environment and innovation in European rural areas and Europe's participation in the global food balances alike”. The two ministers remain mobilised in support of a strong CAP and support the Commission's proposal to maintain the agriculture budget at the nominal level of 2013 over the period 2014-2020. In the current context, in which budgetary efforts at national level are particularly important, the two ministers stress that the CAP is the policy which, in the proposals of the Commission on the forthcoming multiannual financial framework, already make the greatest contribution to efforts to get on top of expenditure. The two ministers announced their opposition to the proposal of certain member states to cut the resources of the first pillar of the CAP (direct aid and market expenditure).
France and Germany can agree on a certain rebalancing of the level of direct aid between the member states, as long as this is “reasonable and progressive”. In this process, account must be taken of the overall allocation and the division of credit granted to each member state, including those under the second pillar (rural development). The two ministers share the objective of moving away from historical references and a progressive internal convergence of direct aid under the first pillar and support the ambition of the Commission's proposals in favour of the environment (greening). The ministers call for a sustainable agricultural use of surface area of ecological interest to be possible. Reinforcing the economic power of producers in the supply chain is a major concern of the ministers. The two countries reaffirm their commitment to vine planting rights and their hope of extending sugar quotas until 2020. The least-favoured areas should continue to enjoy specific support. (LC/transl.fl)