Brussels, 14/06/2013 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament (EP) will not decide on a potential fall in direct farm payments in 2013 as part of the drive for financial discipline until the talks on the European Union's multiannual financial framework (MFF) for 2014-2020 have been concluded. MEPs and the Council of Ministers have until 30 June 2013 to take a decision.
In Strasbourg on 12 June, the EP adopted a report by Luis Manuel Capoulas Santos (S&D, Portugal), by 506 votes to 147, with 28 abstentions, amending the European Commission's proposals. MEPs said that any cut in direct payments in 2013, under the financial discipline mechanism, cannot be decided until the negotiations on the EU's budget for 2014-2020 have been concluded. At the end of March, the Commission recommended a 4.98% cut (€1.47 billion) in direct aid requested in 2013 and due to be paid in 2014, in order to comply with the spending cap agreed by heads of state in February for the 2014 financial year.
The Council of Ministers and European Parliament have until 30 June to decide in co-decision on the Commission's proposal. Under the rules in force, if they do not manage to agree by then, the Commission will decide for itself on the cut in direct payments for 2013. If an adjustment is needed later in the year to take account of the most recent spending forecasts, this decision would be made by the Council of Ministers on its own.
The European Parliament would like to restrict any cut in aid to 0.75%, in line with the MFF proposal submitted by the Commission in 2012, rather than the MFF agreed in February by the heads of state, to which the EP has not yet agreed.
The MEPs say that once the agreement on the MFF has been reached, the Commission should publish a new proposal for a decision under the co-decision procedure and, if agreement is not reached on the MFF in time, then no financial discipline should apply to farmers for the 2014 financial year, because the total amount of direct payments will be calculated using the 2013 figures, adding 2% to cover inflation.
A set payment of €5,000
As suggested by the Commission, the MEPs call for financial discipline not to apply to direct farm aid of less than €5,000, which the rapporteur says will make it possible to spare around 80% of farmers from the cuts. Direct aid to these 80% of farmers accounts for only 15% of the budget of the common agricultural policy.
MEPs also call for farms in the outermost regions of the EU and small islands in the Aegean to be exempt from the cuts, but they rejected an amendment that would also have exempted farmers from member states where the average payment per hectare is below the EU27 average.
Budget discipline will not apply to Bulgaria, Romania or Croatia, the only countries not yet receiving 100% of farm aid, which is being introduced on a gradual basis from the date of their accession to the EU. (LC/transl.fl)