EU agriculture ministers will be meeting in Brussels on Monday 16 July to discuss simplification and subsidiarity aspects of the package of proposals on Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) after 2020. Under “miscellaneous”, they will discuss aid conditionality (see related article).
European Commissioner for Agriculture Phil Hogan will seek to convince ministers of the merits of the proposals aimed at simplifying CAP provisions. Many member states consider some of the measures on CAP post-2020 are over-complex.
Among other things, the ministers will be invited to answer the following questions: - Do you consider that the proposals go far enough in delivering real simplification for farmers and administrations and true subsidiarity? – If not, can you give concrete examples of where there is scope for further simplification and subsidiarity?
The CAP reform package is made up of three proposals (strategic plans, financing and common market organisation).
Drought. Under “miscellaneous”, the Polish delegation will brief the Council on the severe drought conditions that the country is currently experiencing. Poland will call on the Commission to adopt exceptional measures to support farmers affected by these extreme weather conditions.
FAO. The French delegation will inform the Council of developments in the process to find a single EU candidate for the post of director general of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), which is to be filled by 1 January 2020. France will submit to the Council the name of the person it is proposing as future EU candidate to the post of FAO director general.
Valérie Metrich-Hecquet had been appointed, on 27 June, as director general for the economic and environmental performance of enterprises (DGPE) at the French Ministry of Agriculture. She took over from Catherine Geslain-Lanéelle, which added fuel to the rumour whereby the latter is the person being put forward by France as EU candidate to the post of FAO director general.
Austrian programme. Furthermore, Minister Juliane Bogner-Strauss will present the farm and fisheries priorities for the second half of 2018 under Austrian presidency of the EU Council (see EUROPE 12058, 12057). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)