The draft communication on the future of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) which is due to be adopted by the European Commission on 29 November has seen some slight amendment from its first version following consultation with commissioners and the Commission services cost directly involved (see EUROPE 11888).
The new version of the 21-page document on the future of food and farming sees, in particular, some changes to the chapter on direct payments. From the initial version, the passage indicating that the co-financing of the first pillar of the CAP is not an option has been removed. A debate on this controversial point may, therefore, take place. Currently, co-financing applies only to the second pillar (rural development). In another change, the capping of direct aid per farm to within a range of €16,000 and €100,000 has also been taken out.
The document now states that, to ensure fair and better targeted support for farmers’ incomes, the following options should be explored: mandatory capping of direct payments taking account of labour to avoid any negative impact on jobs; degressive payments or other means to reduce the support for large farms; redistributive payments to provide targeted support, for example, to small and medium-sized farms; targeted support for genuine farmers focusing on those actively engaged in farming to earn their living.
For the rest, there is little in the way of change. The main focus areas of the proposal remain the complete overhaul of greening, putting in place new risk-management tools, further incentives for young people to come into farming and, broadly, leaving as much flexibility as possible for member states.
Formal legislative proposals for the next reform of the CAP will be presented in the second half of 2018, following an impact assessment due in the spring and once Commission proposals on the new EU financial framework have been published. (Original version in French)