Brussels, 13/05/2014 (Agence Europe) - A report published on Tuesday 13 May by the European Court of Auditors (ECA) reveals that the EU has been only partially successful in integrating water policy goals into the common agricultural policy (CAP). The audit highlighted weaknesses in the two instruments currently used to integrate water concerns into the CAP (namely cross-compliance and rural development).
To give an example: the polluter-pays principle has not been incorporated into the CAP so a farmer who pollutes will continue to receive the full amount of a significant number of payments for rural development, explains the report, based on an audit carried out in 2012 and 2013 in seven member states facing problems with water quality and shortages, namely France, Denmark, Greece, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and Slovakia. Moreover, the pressure on water from agriculture is not sufficiently monitored, explains the Court of Auditors. The report explains that the instruments in place have increased water quality and quantity, but do not match up to the political ambitions laid down for the CAP, particularly the even more ambitious targets for 2014-2020.
In a European Court of Auditors' press release, Kevin Cardiff explains: “In Europe, agriculture is, quite naturally, a major user of water - around one-third of total water use - and is a source of pressure on water resources, for example through nutrient pollution in water”. (LC)