On Monday 19 March, the agriculture ministers of the European Union are to meet in Brussels for an Agriculture Council during which they will be invited to finalise their common direction regarding the future of CAP post-2020.
Revised draft conclusions, put together by the Bulgarian presidency of the EU Council, were again discussed on Monday 12 March in the Special Committee on Agriculture and a final version should be ready at the end of the week. The revised version includes oral observations by delegations during the meeting of 5 March. These will be written down after the meeting (see EUROPE 11978).
Most delegations welcomed the text, saying it is a “step in the right direction and an improvement on the first draft”. The main concerns were nonetheless reiterated, being sticking points: - firstly, external convergence (between levels of support from one member state to the next); - coupled support (Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden were especially opposed to this); - questions relating to the multiannual financial framework (MFF) post-2020; - to a lesser extent, maintaining the simplified single payment scheme depending on surface area, enjoyed by member states joining the EU after 2004; - market and crisis measures; - and crisis reserve management.
On the basis of this first round the table discussion, the Bulgarian presidency presented an alternative text which, although considered as an additional breakthrough, did not allow the compromise to be finalised. A new recasting will therefore be prepared with a view to the Council.
The Baltic States and Poland have already prepared a statement that they will present to ministers on Monday and in which they particularly stress the question of convergence of support levels between member states. “All EU farmers must meet the same requirements and obligations and face the same challenges”, the four delegations state.
According to these four member states, if the future CAP’s environmental ambition is reviewed upward, it will be necessary for aid to be increased proportionally and distributed equitably between all member states. If this point of view is not better reflected in the final document, the four countries threaten to prevent adoption of the Council’s conclusions.
On Monday, during the Special Committee on Agriculture meeting, the European Commission also gave a brief exposé on modernisation of the future CAP, especially on research and innovation, the transfer of knowledge and digitalisation. It called on member states to reflect on ways to ensure adoption of innovation, digital transformation and the transfer of knowledge in the agricultural sector in general and in the CAP control and monitoring system in particular. (Original version in French)