The European Parliament's rapporteur on future strategic plans, Esther Herranz García (EPP, Spain), advocates postponing the date of implementation of the post-2020 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to 2023 (see EUROPE 12121, 12059). She also recommends retaining at least 70% of direct payments to the basic income and providing for a mandatory cap on farm payments of €100,000.
The three reports on the future CAP, including the central one on strategic plans (direct payments, rural development and sectoral interventions), will be presented on 21 November to the European Parliament's Committee on Agriculture.
The next part of the timetable is unclear: the vote on these reports should be able to take place in the Agriculture Committee by the May 2019 elections, but it is not at all certain that the plenary will be able to take a decision before that election deadline. It would therefore be up to the next Parliament to decide in plenary on these texts.
In the draft report, Esther Herranz García suggests postponing the implementation of the next reform to 2023 to take into account both the time needed for institutional negotiations (including on the EU's multiannual financial framework) and the preparation of plans by Member States and their adoption by the European Commission. She also logically advocates maintaining the current level of the CAP budget after 2020.
It is suggested that the common elements of the CAP be strengthened with a minimum of 70% of direct payments allocated to basic income support.
For the ceiling on direct aid, Mrs Herranz García introduces flexibility into the system, which would remain mandatory, as proposed by the Commission. Member States could decide their own threshold which should not be less than €100,000, after deducting wages, eco-scheme programmes and payments for young farmers.
The 'redistributive payment' to the first 30 hectares of farms would be limited to a maximum of 25% of the direct payment envelope. Esther Herranz García also proposes maintaining coupled support at its current level (13%, and an additional 2% to support protein crops).
Finally, as regards aid for young farmers, the draft report raises the age limit from 40 to 45 years, its duration to 7 years, with an obligation for Member States to spend at least what they have spent on this scheme during the period 2014-2020 (instead of at least 2% in the Commission's draft).
On the conditionality of the aid that the Commission wishes to strengthen (addition of greening measures), Esther Herranz García considers that the rules must be defined by the basic regulation in order to ensure a strong common basis for this future CAP. As such, it advocates the deletion of the clause that allows Member States to add additional rules to achieve the objectives of cross compliance. It calls for the removal of the tool for nutrient sustainability under this new conditionality, considering that such a mechanism is more appropriate in the context of rural development. The current rules on equivalence for greening measures should, in her view, be maintained. Finally, organic farmers, small producers and those in the outermost regions should be exempted from a number of controls from this cross-compliance.
On rural development, the MEP believes that aid to areas with natural handicaps should continue to be counted as 'environmental' support, contrary to what the Commission is proposing. She also asks: - that support be more targeted towards agricultural investments; - a start-up aid scheme for new entrants to agriculture (who are not necessarily young farmers); - a new mechanism to compensate farmers who are victims of predator attacks.
Risk management tools should be mandatory, with the possibility of introducing multi-risk regimes, the draft report stresses. Esther Herranz García wants a return to the current levels of co-financing rates under the second pillar (while the Commission is proposing a 10% reduction) and even an increase in some cases (young farmers, depopulated areas, women, etc.).
She wants transfers of funds from the first pillar to the second to be limited to 15% of the first pillar envelope. Finally, she opposes the 'performance bonus' (an envelope awarded to Member States that achieve the objectives of their strategic plans), a measure that is perceived as a form of sanction for those who do not receive it. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)