In response to the request from environmental NGOs for substantial reform to the common agricultural policy (CAP), Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan pointed out on Thursday 8 September that no agreement had yet been reached on this matter among the members of the REFIT platform, which deals with the European Commission programme that seeks to simplify legislation.
On Thursday, Hogan met representatives of the European Environmental Bureau, BirdLife Europe and WWF Europe for “a wide-ranging discussion on the implementation and future developments of the common agricultural policy”, according to the commissioner’s services.
In March of this year, over 50 NGOs active in the areas of agriculture, development, the environment, climate, animal welfare, food systems and public health wrote to Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker to call for real reform of the CAP (see EUROPE 11517).
Hogan sought to reassure the NGOs on their expectations, indicating that he was prepared to “discuss and assess the performance of the CAP”. He noted that an assessment of the CAP and its future direction could take one of many forms, “provided that any such assessment is based on facts and figures and an informed discussion about CAP performance”.
In relation to greening of direct payments, Commissioner Hogan told the NGOs that, in his view, the review of the rules (one year after they were put in place) “provides the possibility to further strengthen the environmental outcome of greening in the short-term”. Furthermore, an evaluation report on the implementation of ecological focus areas (EFAs) will be presented by the Commission before the end of March 2017. He said that “while the initial evidence suggests that greening is working, more must be done to ensure that it works better and delivers more”. Decisions about what needs to be done to improve its performance must be evidence-based and the commissioner invited the environmental NGOs and other stakeholders to contribute their constructive proposals about how the scheme could be simplified and improved “without compromising on its policy outcomes or level of environmental ambition”.
Lastly, Hogan said he agreed entirely that the preservation of the environment and climate action must be “at the core of any policy debate” and that more needs to be done to deliver on the EU’s international agreement obligations, particularly with regard to the Paris climate agreement (COP 21). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)