On Thursday 22 February, the agriculture committee of the European Parliament adopted (by 37 votes to 3) the own initiative report by Esther Herranz Garcia (EPP, Spain) on the “current situation and future prospects for the sheep and goat sectors in the EU”.
The report, which should be voted by Parliament as a whole during the plenary session in Strasbourg from 16 to 19 April, mainly recommends that, as part of the future CAP, a new environmental payment should be created to remunerate public goods provided by sheep and goat farmers, such as improvement of the land and conservation of ecosystems. MEPs also call for the voluntary coupled aid currently received by these sectors to be maintained, if not increased. The parliamentary report invites the European Commission to increase its support for the promotion of sheep and goat meat and for innovation in the sheep and goat sector. In addition, MEPs say, the European Union should reflect twice before opening its market up to new imports, especially within the framework of the free trade negotiations that will be opening with New Zealand.
The United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU is one of the main reasons for concern in the sheep and goat sectors, given the influence that the UK has on the Community market and the fact that it is the main entry for imports from third countries, the report states. It is via the United Kingdom that most ovine imports from third countries come, with New Zealand in the lead.
These proposals are close to those of the European forum for reflection on the future of the sheep sector. In October 2016, it had passed on its conclusions to European Commissioner Phil Hogan with a view to preparing CAP reform (see EUROPE 11646). (Original version in French by Antonin Garnier)