The Austrian Presidency of the Council of the EU wants to focus debate at the informal rural development ministerial meeting, but a number of ministers pointed out at Hof Castle on Tuesday 25 September the importance they place on direct farm payments in the framework of debate about the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) post-2020 (see EUROPE 12103).
At a round the table discussion, most ministers unsurprisingly said that the second pillar of the CAP (rural development) was important for...