Brussels, 24/03/2015 (Agence Europe) - European Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan tried on Tuesday 24 March to somewhat calm the ardour of MEPs for simplification of the common agricultural policy (CAP). The Agriculture Council is due to adopt conclusions on this matter in May or June and the commissioner suggested to the European Parliament that it adopt an own initiative report containing ideas on simplifying the CAP.
“There has to be clarity but farmers need stability”, said Hogan, who had been invited to attend the Parliament agriculture committee meeting to discuss simplification. He reminded MEPs that this was one of his priorities for 2015 and said that he supported a reduction in the administrative load on farmers in Europe. Everyone has to play their part, the commissioner said. During negotiations on the reform of the CAP, countries asked for greater flexibility and more exemptions. “This is reflected in the choices made, especially on direct payments and rural development.” “EU countries are not making full use of the simplification opportunities offered by the new CAP. They are putting in place aid regimes that are difficult to manage and impossible to monitor”, argued a critical Hogan. The Parliament's political groups and MEPs have sent Hogan 110 pages of suggestions on simplification (eligibility criteria for direct payments, greening, monitoring, sanctions, flexibility, the concept of “active farmer”, young farmers, aid for the fruit and vegetables sector, and more). The commissioner said again, however, that there could be no deviation from the policy decisions of the 2013 reform. Simplification must not increase error rate, he stated, going on to say: “Farmers need stability to implement the reforms on the ground. Endless changes to the CAP would not make the task any easier”.
On greening, some would like to see changes brought, but this would go beyond the 2013 agreement, warned Hogan. On monitoring methods, a task force was set up in DG AGRI in 2014 to look at error rate. “We want to reduce and simplify the legal texts”, said the commissioner. Among the provisions which will be simplified, he mentioned: public intervention measures (including private storage), the fruit and vegetables regime and marketing standards. The Commission will amend the animal registration rules. Hogan reminded the meeting that he had recommended a one-month extension (until 15 June) to the deadline for direct payment applications.
Albert Dess (EPP, Germany) said that implementation of the reform of the CAP had been “chaotic”. He had been in favour of delaying application of the greening of aid rules by a year. “I have every confidence in you. I hope you will keep your promises”, he told the commissioner. Paolo De Castro (S&D, Italy) asked the commissioner to state the timetable. He argued for a mid-term review of greening to maintain the environmental benefits without complicating the lives of farmers. Jan Huitema (ALDE, Netherlands) asked if the Commission was going to approve an increased number of certification programmes (as part of the greening of aid). Martin Häusling (Greens/EFA, Germany) pointed out that those who were now criticising the reform were those who had approved it: the main political groups in the Parliament. “All the derogations that were called for are now coming back to haunt us”, he noted. “Some within the Parliament agriculture committee was to use simplification as an excuse for getting rid of greening. That cannot be allowed. It has to be maintained”, Häusling argued.
In response to MEPs' questions, Hogan said: - a special unit has been in place for eight months to help EU countries interpret the legislation adopted on the CAP; - with regard to ecologically valuable areas (as part of the CAP), it will be seen if the countries share the same interpretation and he has decided not to impose sanctions in the first two years of implementation of the CAP; - in terms of the timetable, he hopes that a raft of measures will be ready before then end of this year; - at this present moment, France, Ireland and the Netherlands have submitted certification programmes (greening); - on the definition of an active farmer, there is some flexibility, the purpose is not to help only large-scale wealthy farmers; - Croatia's rural development programme has been adopted, which is good news for the country; - the situation in the Baltic States is giving cause for concern, particularly in the dairy sector (because of the Russian embargo) and Hogan said that further measures will be taken in the future; - on the question of land eligibility, Ireland has submitted a request and “I hope that we will be able to bring some clarity to the matter to ensure that the largest number of people can continue to benefit” (our translation throughout); - a single portal would be useful for making online returns; - reform of the fruit and vegetables sector are likely to be included in the 2016 work programme.
The simplification process is not a new reform in 2015, concluded Commissioner Hogan. (Lionel Changeur)