Brussels, 19/12/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 19 December, the Cypriot Presidency of the Council said that the greening of direct aid, a major issue in the reform of the common agricultural policy (CAP), was “under threat”, due to the lack of agreement of the European Council on the multi-annual financial framework 2014-2020. This is particularly the case as the proposals on the table provided for a cut in agricultural expenditure. There is still much work to be done before a compromise can be reached in June on the reform of the CAP, as hoped for by the forthcoming Irish Presidency and the European Commission. Differences of opinion remain considerable, particularly on the internal convergence of aid (rebalancing support between the farmers of the same country) and the greening of aid.
Cypriot Minister Sofoclis Aletraris presented a report on the state of progress in talks on the reform of the CAP (see EUROPE 10752). “An agreement is likely to be reached under the Irish Presidency”, he said, adding that the timetable was tight. He pointed out that it had not been possible for the Council to reach a partial general orientation at the end of this year on the reform, due to uncertainty over the budget. According to Aletraris, the compromise texts on greening and the equivalence system “go in the right direction, the member states feel”, even though some questions remain open. Simplifications have been brought in for aid to young farmers and small farmers. Interim provisions have been brought in for aid under the single area payment scheme (SPS) in favour of ten of the 12 new countries of the EU.
On the funding of the CAP, Aletraris added, “we have made good progress on controls and sanctions, although the technical work has not yet been concluded”. On rural development, talks have made good progress, but there are still a number of sensitive issues: the income stabilisation fund, the irrigation plank and delimiting areas with natural handicaps.
During the debate, Italy raised the issues of internal convergence (this should be done without creating any trauma in the social fabric), greening (this should be done in harmony with the situation for farms) and the definition of active farmers. taly also called for the obligation to indicate the origin of agricultural products to feature in the CAP reform package.
The provisions on the reform must be seen in the context of the financial framework, argued Germany. “We are waiting for the decisions on the financial framework before drawing the outlines of the future CAP”, said Ilse Aigner, the German Agriculture Minister. Germany supports the proposal on internal convergence, but opposes the provisions on limiting aid for large farms and on the bundling of aid.
The United Kingdom called for simplification. London called on the Commission to present interim measures (for 2014) for direct payments (due to delays in the implementation of the reform). There is a risk that the national payment agencies will not be ready in time, meaning that direct aid will continue to be paid under the current model on an interim basis in 2014.
“There is still a lot for us to do on all of the texts”, said the French representative, who noted the progress made, particularly on greening. France pointed out that the development of the budgetary negotiations brings to bear “a potential major threat on the funding earmarked for the future CAP. But without an adequate budget, the CAP cannot respond to our ambitions”. The most important issues for France are: internal convergence, greening, market regulation (concrete progress called for on the mechanisms in the event of crisis and volume regulation tools, in reference to sugar and wine), and the possibilities for the economic organisation of the producers (better balance between the various links in the chain).
“The fact of faithfully recording the progress made on CAP reform in a report will constitute a heritage and a solid basis for the Irish Presidency, which will take over the flame on 1 January 2013”, said European Agriculture Commissioner Dacian Ciolos. At the end of the Cypriot Presidency, the proposal on rural development, in particular, has made good progress. He stressed the tough backdrop “of budgetary uncertainty” due to the fact that an agreement at the European Council on the financial framework 2014-2020 is still outstanding. Over the next weeks, the Council will continue to go into greater depth on a number of key issues in order to commit to a constructive trialogue discussion (with the Commission and Parliament). “The objective is indeed to conclude by June of next year”, said the Commissioner. The committee on agriculture of the Parliament will take position in January and the Parliament's plenary vote will be held in March (our translation throughout). (LC/transl.fl)