The European Committee of the Regions (CoR), in its opinion on the post-2020 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) adopted on Thursday 6 December, rejects the proposed 28% cut in the rural development budget.
The Commission has proposed such cuts in the EU's multiannual financial framework (MFF) for 2021-2027.
The CoR supports the proposal (in the 'post-2020 CAP package') to cap direct payments and proposes, in this context, to take into account “a maximum of 50%” of employees' costs alone.
It calls for the introduction of voluntary crisis management tools based on the management of production volumes and takes the view that income insurance is an expensive instrument.
In addition, it proposes full convergence of direct payments between Member States not later than in 2027. In those countries and regions where it has not yet been achieved, internal convergence should, according to the CoR, be gradually increased, supporting disadvantaged regions, to be complete in 2026.
The opinion supports the establishment of a mandatory redistributive payment and proposes increasing its scale, with a minimum of 30% of Pillar 1 funds (direct aids).
Finally, the CoR proposes that each national Strategic Plan should meet the minimum threshold of 40% of the CAP's overall financial envelope contributing to environmental climate objective. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)