Brussels, 20/09/2013 (Agence Europe) - Next week, the European Parliament and the EU Council of Ministers are expected to smooth out their differences on budgetary matters still to be settled in the context of common agricultural policy (CAP) reform. The latest negotiations are above all on the aid degressivity mechanism. MEPs consider they have already shown enough flexibility and call on agricultural ministers to be less rigid.
The dossier will be the focus of Agriculture Council discussions on Monday 23 September, in Brussels. The following day, a last trialogue should allow reform to be settled once and for all. “The Lithuanian Presidency does not intend to reopen political discussions on the main elements of the common agricultural policy reform and has a very limited mandate for negotiations on multiannual financial framework related issues. However, we hope to settle all outstanding issues with the European Parliament during September”, the Lithuanian agriculture minister, Vigilijus Jukna, has said.
During the trialogue on 17 September (see EUROPE 10924), the European Parliament officially presented to the Council the proposals made by the Parliament rapporteur on direct payments, Luis Manuel Capoulas Santos (S&D, Portugal), regarding points of CAP reform still to be discussed, i.e. those relating to the multiannual financial framework: degressivity, flexibility between pillars and the rate of co-financing for rural development.
Capoulas Santos reviewed his demands downwards (after a discussion on 11 September with the coordinators of political groups) so that a compromise might be found with EU28 farm ministers. On the subject of degressivity, he suggests that a 5% rate of reduction of direct payments be applied from the sum of €150,000 annual support, as the Council also advocates, and that a 10% rate be applied for amounts over €300,000. This second threshold does not appear in the Council mandate. Member states could be exempted from degressivity if they establish the “redistributive” payment (i.e. a premium for the first hectares) up to 10% of the national envelope for direct payments (compared to 5% in the Council mandate).
On Monday, during the Agriculture Council, ministers will give their opinion at a public session on the requests made by the Parliament, and then they will pursue discussion during a working luncheon. An exceptional meeting of the Special Committee on Agriculture (SCA) will be held after the Council. During that meeting, experts from member states are expected to finalise a stance for the final negotiation foreseen the following day, in trialogue (24 September).
In a letter addressed to Jukna, who is also the president-in-office of the Council, the chairman of the European Parliament committee on agriculture, Paolo De Castro (S&D, Italy), warns that, if no agreement is found, MEPs will vote on the mandate adopted on 13 March, on those points relevant to the multiannual financial framework. In this mandate, MEPs above all take a stance in favour of capping direct aid as of €300,000. That situation would entail a second reading of the text on CAP and would probably delay entry into application of the reform until 2015 or even 2016 (for direct payments). No-one envisages this solution and an exit door should be found. It is imperative that the Parliament agriculture committee adopt the text on reform on 30 September so that, after this, discussion may begin on transitional measures for 2014, to conclude the end of the year.
Forests, trade, African swine fever, TRACES. During the Agriculture Council, the Commission will present its communication on supporting forests and the forest sector and on a new approach for a new EU forest strategy (see related article).
The Council will be briefed by the Commission on the state of play of international agricultural trade issues. The most prominent talks, and in particular the WTO Doha Development Round and negotiations with Canada and the United States on a transatlantic partnership for trade and investment, could have considerable repercussions on agriculture in the EU.
The Irish delegation will present the conclusions of the 33rd Conference of Directors of EU Paying Agencies, held in Dublin (Ireland) on 25 and 26 April 2013. The main theme of the conference was the impact that CAP reform would have on paying agencies.
The Presidency will brief the Council on the main issues examined during the 7th international congress on “Shaping Europe's Organic Future Together - Making an impact on the EU organic legal framework within the future CAP”, held in Vilnius (Lithuania) from 2 to 4 July this year. A legislative proposal to amend the current regulation 834/2007 on organic farming may be submitted to the European Parliament and the Council at the end of 2013.
The Council will be briefed by the Polish delegation on the risk of African swine fever possibly spreading into the EU and on the need for coordinated actions. Outbreaks of African swine fever were recently observed in Belarus and the Russian Federation, near the EU borders. Poland's view is that the Commission should coordinate preventive actions to avoid the spread of the disease into EU territory. In addition, financial resources to cover potential direct and indirect losses linked to this disease should be guaranteed.
The Netherlands delegation will request the Commission to share its views on the transparency and availability to the public of the numbers involved in the trade of live animals through the Trade Control and Expert System (TRACES). TRACES is an information system managed by the Commission for the notification, certification and monitoring of consignments of live animals and certain animal products that are imported, exported and transported in intra-Community trade flows. Member states are obliged to register all necessary information in the system. (LC/transl.jl)