European Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan, speaking at the European Commission’s annual agricultural outlook conference in Brussels on Monday 18 December, defended the proposals contained in his communication on the future of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which are of concern to both the member states and a section of farmers (see EUROPE 11923). He had been unable to hold a discussion on the matter with ministers on 11 December as he was attending the WTO ministerial meeting in Buenos Aires (see EUROPE 11926).
The main measure in the communication which precedes legislative proposals, expected for June 2018, seeks to give the member states greater responsibility by means of a “new delivery model”, which would allow them to prepare strategic plans approved by the Commission. “Principally people are concerned that we are moving towards what some people have begun to describe as the ‘renationalisation of the CAP’” but the Commission does not, as some fear, have any intention of handing over its responsibilities, he said, adding: “Neither are we dismantling the internal market, which is one of the key achievements of the CAP and something from which farmers benefit every day”.
The Commissioner made the point that his proposal sought greater subsidiarity for the member states but that the Commission would have a role to play in ensuring coherence in the choices made by the member states on EU priorities and targets. Each of the specific targets will be accompanied by a series of outcomes and indicators that will allow the member states to define their objectives. “The CAP strategic plans and their approval by the Commission will preserve a functioning agricultural internal market”, Hogan promised. “I understand and have clearly heard concerns that this lighter approach could result in member states applying unnecessary obligations on beneficiaries. As part of the Commission’s scrutiny of the strategic plans, we will be very mindful of avoiding over-regulation and ‘gold plating’”, he stated.
European Budget Commissioner Günther Oettinger was due to speak in the evening on the budgetary aspects of the new CAP. The second day of the conference, 19 December, will be devoted to economic analyses and the short- and medium-term outlook for the agricultural sector.
The conference site: http://bit.ly/2zW5u5A (Original version in French)