Brussels, 07/06/2016 (Agence Europe) - The mid-term review of the EU's Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2014-2020 must not lead to any cuts in the funding of the common agricultural policy (CAP), the European Parliament's agriculture committee said in Strasbourg on Monday 6 June.
With its adoption (by 31 votes to 6, with 5 abstentions) of the opinion by Peter Jahr (EPP, Germany) on preparation of the post-electoral review of the MFF 2014-2020, the committee called for a European agricultural insurance fund to be established to help address agricultural crises.
Revision of the MFF should be used, the MEPs say, to deploy more funds to new market and crisis measures and proceed further with simplification of the CAP.
The MEPs say that the amount of money currently available under Heading 2 (natural resources) must be maintained at least - or even increased - to ensure that the CAP continues to provide support for agricultural production, environmental programmes and economic activity in rural areas and meets society's food demands. They argue the CAP must continue to focus on supporting small-scale and family farming businesses as the cornerstone of agricultural production in the EU and keep the specific measures to support areas suffering from severe and permanent natural handicaps such as mountainous and outermost regions.
European agricultural insurance fund. The opinion states that, as price volatility has significantly increased in recent years, the EU must rapidly establish new market and crisis management measures. The committee would like a European agricultural insurance fund to be set up, to be used in times of crisis, for example, to reduce production volumes and thus stabilise prices.
Lastly, the MEPs restate their firm opposition to any repatriation of agricultural policies. They urge the Commission and the EU governments to put an end to unequal implementation of the CAP and differences in payment levels in the member states that has led to distortion of competition within the internal market.
The Parliament's budgets committee is expected to adopt its own initiative report on revision of the MFF 2014-2020 when it meets on 27 June (see EUROPE 11558). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)