In its draft text on simplifying the greening of direct aid, the European Commission confirms that it would still like to see a ban on plant health products in ecological focus areas.
Simplification of the greening of common agricultural policy (CAP) aid, announced almost six months ago, is expected finally to be adopted at the start of 2017 and to come into force in 2018 (a year later than the Commission originally planned). While some of the provisions proposed by the Commission will, indeed, simplify the rules by restricting the derogations, they will not necessarily make life easier for farmers.
Following criticism from member states and farmers, the Commission had to withdraw its proposals to extend the length of fallow periods and of land cover by catch crops (see EUROPE 11646). However, it remains determined to have the use of pesticides on so-called productive ecological focus areas, that is to say, where catch crops or nitrogen-fixing crops are grown, banned in future.
Eighteen EU countries against.
Numerous member states have already made their unhappiness known. At the Agriculture Council on 10 October 2016, 18 delegations opposed the proposal banning pesticides on ecological focus areas.
In a letter to European Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan on 13 December, the European farmers’ and agri-cooperatives’ organisations (Copa and Cogeca) once again argued against such a move. The ban, however, is still contained in the delegated act “Changes to greening rules and clarifications of certain other direct payments’ rules”, put out until 12 January for comments from stakeholders. Once that deadline is passed, the Council of the EU and the European Parliament will have two months either to approve or to reject the text.
In July, the Commission announced some fifteen measures to simplify greening, thirteen of which related to ecological focus areas. Apart from the two which have been withdrawn and the ban on pesticides, the other provisions, on which there is more of a consensus, apply to: - nitrogen-fixing seed mixes; - greater flexibility on the eligibility of certain parts of the landscape; - adjusting the list of species for short-rotation coppice; - adjusting weighting factors.
Lastly, two measures relate to the crop diversification criterion: adapting the periods of crop establishment according to region and improving equivalent practices.
The member states which wish to do so will be able to put the body of provisions into effect from as early as 2017, once they have been adopted. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)