A large number of EU agriculture ministers, meeting in Luxembourg on Monday 10 October, criticised the draft delegated act proposed by the European Commission to simplify certain rules on the greening of aid in the common agricultural policy (CAP).
During the “other business” section of the Council, Poland presented a statement supported by 17 delegations, including those of the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal and Romania, setting out common concerns over a draft delegated act on the greening of direct aid (see EUROPE 11598). These countries are against: - placing a ban on the use of pesticides in productive areas (fallow land, catch crops and nitrogen-fixing crops); - the extension of the minimum fallow period from six to nine months; - putting in place a compulsory ten week period for catch crops.
A source says that there was no debate in Council on this occasion. European Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan told the press that the Commission was proposing to delay the measures to simplify greening until January 2018. Those member states which would prefer to apply them before that date will, however, be able to do so, he said.
Reference thresholds and common organisation of the market (CMO). The Commission presented a proposal deriving from a Court of Justice ruling (ruling in case C-113/14) which annulled Article 7 of the single CMO regulation. The ruling stated that the Council alone had the power to set intervention reference thresholds, something the Commission wants to clarify in the texts. Some member states (Austria, France, Poland and Spain, in particular) used this discussion to call for these reference thresholds to be revised, while others, such as Denmark and Germany were against any such moves.
Animal welfare and financial institutions. The Austrian delegation said that it wanted compliance with animal welfare standards to be made compulsory when international financial institutions (for example, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund) put capital investment plans (loans, subsidies) in place in developing countries. The Commission, Austria said, could prepare guidelines and a training programme for these countries. The document was supported by a significant number of countries: Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Spain.
Sweden and Denmark said that this issue could be one of the areas of responsibility of the forthcoming European animal welfare platform. The Czech Republic added that this model could also apply to pesticide use.
Hogan said that this issue could be worth following up but did not, at this stage, suggest any potential work on it by the Commission. He pointed out that the European Investment Bank (EIB) had recently updated its standards and suggested that the member states had the means to take things forward through their national development aid agencies. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)