Estonian Rural Affairs Minister Tarmo Tamm said in Brussels on Tuesday 11 July that the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) should remain common and adequately funded in future. He confirmed that debate on the CAP after 2020 will be a key issue in the second half of this year, despite the difficult budget situation (see EUROPE 11825). The other important issues for the Estonian Presidency will be the so-called omnibus regulation, the market situation and trade agreements.
The Estonian minister set out the priorities of the Presidency over the next six months for the MEPs on the Parliament’s agriculture committee, stressing, in particular, modernisation and simplification of the CAP. The future of the CAP and crisis- and risk-management form the theme of the informal meeting of the Agriculture Council in Tallinn on 4-5 September. At the Agriculture Council on 11 December, the Commission will present a communication on modernising and simplifying the CAP. Answering MEPs’ questions, Tamm said the CAP should have more effective crisis-management tools and safety nets.
Tight budget framework. Tamm said that the debate on the future of the CAP would take place against a backdrop of budget constraint “because four of the five scenarios in the reflection document involve a cut in agricultural spending”. Éric Andrieu (S&D, France) also made reference to the budgetary constraints. The current CAP budget is already 1.1% lower than in the previous financial framework, noted Czesław Adam Siekierski (EPP, Poland). He said that the CAP budget would be cut by €4 billion because of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU. He also argued against transferring credits from the second pillar of the CAP (rural development) to cohesion policy.
The minister also expects debates in Council on the situation on the agricultural markets (“We’re still feeling the effects of the Russian embargo”, he noted) and hopes that the three institutions will come to agreement in October on the omnibus regulation which contains measures to simplify the CAP. Albert Dess (EPP, Germany) called on the Council to determine its position on the omnibus regulation.
International trade. The Estonian minister argued that a policy of openness should be maintained and hoped for new trade agreements. These free-trade deals could help EU farmers find new outlets, he suggested. Tamm stressed the need for the European Commission to respect the principle of transparency and, thus, to keep the countries of the EU informed of the state of progress in negotiations. Some MEPs, including Martin Häusling (Greens/EFA, Germany) and Andrieu, asked about the resumption of talks with the Mercosur countries and the proposed new trade agreements with Australia and New Zealand. The agreements must be balanced, Tamm replied.
Elsewhere, the Estonian Presidency will hold a high-level conference on sustainable soil use and intends to work on antimicrobial resistance, veterinary medicines, plant health and animal welfare. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)