In Brussels on Thursday 30 August, members of the European Parliament’s agriculture committee were sceptical about simplification aspects of the proposal for a new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
A European Commission reprehensive made a presentation to the MEPs on aspects of simplification of the future CAP (see EUROPE 12058), starting off by saying that what they were doing was simpler.
He mentioned the end of greening (over-complex and ineffective), moving instead to strengthened conditionality, reorganisation of responsibilities between the European Commission and the member states and greater flexibility in terms of controls and penalties.
"Do you at the DG really want to achieve simplification?" asked Albert Dess (EPP, Germany), more than doubtful about efforts in this direction.
"My doubts have not been reduced at all", said Nicola Caputo (S&D, Italy), mentioning the risk of renationalising the CAP.
Ulrike Müller (ALDE, Germany) said the presentation made by the Commission provided more questions than answers. She said she feared an increase in controls and said the EU Court of Auditors "wants to know where the money goes".
Beata Barbara Gosiewska (CRE, Poland) also expressed doubt about progress in simplification.
Clara Eugenia Aguilera Garcia (S&D, Spain) asked a question about any potential new sharing out of rights to payments arising from the proposals.
Answering the comments, the Commission representative admitted the reigning scepticism, saying they had tried to introduce a system in which the CAP remains common to all and the rules would be verified after the premeditation of EU countries’ strategic national plans. In terms of conditionality, there would be common rules that could be adjusted to the local context and, for the ‘common’ evaluation and control system "everyone would be subject to the same rules, even though greater responsibility would go to the member states", concluded the Commission representative. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)