Copa and Cogeca argued in Brussels on Friday 28 April for the post-2020 common agricultural policy (CAP) to be updated but not reformed. The policy, said the farmers and agri-cooperatives organisations in the EU, must retain its current structure and remain “strong”.
“We want to keep the present structure of the CAP with its two strong pillars”, Copa President Martin Merrild told a group of journalists on Friday. The first pillar of the CAP comprises direct aid and market spending and the second contains rural development schemes. Copa and Cogeca want current measures (direct payments, safety nets and risk management tools) to be retained in the future.
The presidents of the two organisations agreed a joint position on the post-2020 CAP, which was submitted to the Commission in the context of the public consultation on modernising the policy. “We don’t speak about reform but about modernising the CAP”, Merrild repeated.
Greening to be re-visited. Copa and Cogeca are seeking adjustments to the CAP and measures to simplify the rules, particularly on the greening of aid. Merrild acknowledges that farmers are more affected by risks resulting from price volatility and tougher climatic conditions. Farmers feel, moreover, that the checks and red tape surrounding the greening of aid are much too complex. “Greening has to be made simpler and greater choice given to farmers on those bits of greening that they want to take part in”, Merrild said.
No to degressivity and capping of aid. He also acknowledged that Copa and Cogeca did not support degressivity and capping of aid. The text of the joint position says that, given the differing situations in the various EU countries, “capping and degressivity are unacceptable”. Copa and Cogeca say they are not in favour of transferring funds from one pillar of the CAP to the other.
The withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU worries many farmers, particularly in countries for which the UK is a major importer of agricultural products, such as Ireland (where 37% of exports of agricultural products go to the UK). “We have to keep the single market with the United Kingdom”, said Merrild. The UK is a net contributor to the EU budget and its withdrawal will mean pressure on this budget, Merrild recognised. To compensate for the loss of the British contribution, the other EU countries will have to pay more or the budget will have to be cut, he stated.
Lastly, he noted that, in every country of the EU, those most sceptical of the European project lived in rural areas. “The EU and the CAP really have a role to play in supporting companies by means of new technologies and improving living conditions in rural areas”, he argued. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)