EU Agriculture Ministers will once again discuss the post-2020 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) package on Monday 18 March in Brussels.
The Romanian Presidency of the EU Council will wish to sound out the Member States on compromise texts presented on the three proposals: a regulation on the CAP's strategic plans, another on the financing, management and monitoring of the CAP and a final one on the common organisation of the market in agricultural products (CMO).
The Romanian Presidency will present a progress report on the negotiations to the EU Council on the three proposals and will ask delegations if they approve the compromise texts, "in a spirit of compromise". The objective for the Romanian Presidency remains to bring the EU Council to a general approach in June on the post-2020 CAP.
Strategic plans. Discussions at EU expert level (see EUROPE 12207/5) showed that: - delegations prefer the definition of 'permanent grassland' in the so-called Omnibus' Regulation; - on the definition of young farmers, the Presidency's proposal to make skills and training requirements voluntary was supported by many delegations; - Member States prefer that the definition of 'genuine farmers' be made on a voluntary basis (including the possibility of setting a threshold under which all farmers may be considered as 'genuine'); -Member States have expressed the wish to continue the debate on the reduction of direct payments and prefer that the deduction of labour costs be voluntary (in the calculation of the reduction of payments); they have also asked for flexibility to specify the method of calculating the amounts to be deducted; - the proposal to make the implementation of premiums in the first hectares (redistributive payments) voluntary has been supported by many delegations (but the Commission wants a mandatory system); - Member States support the possibility of providing for a possible redesign of areas subject to natural or other area-specific constraints; - Member States support in principle a support rate for investments of up to 75% (and exceptionally up to 100% for specific interventions, to which Member States wish to add agricultural and forestry infrastructure).
Horizontal regulation. Member States: - support giving the Commission the power to adopt delegated acts also with regard to sectoral interventions, including in the fruit and vegetables sector; - agree that in urgent cases, the Commission shall adopt implementing acts concerning payments to beneficiaries. Although the views of the Member States are mixed, there is a preference for the reintroduction of the €2,000 threshold for financial discipline being applied.
On the CMO, the most difficult subject concerns the balance to be struck between maintaining the ban on six specific hybrid varieties of the species Vitis labrusca and the possibility of using certain hybrid varieties in PDO wines (see EUROPE 12181/4). A compromise will also have to be found on the transitional period for the obligation to indicate the nutritional value and the list of wine ingredients on the labelling.
The EU Council will also discuss the recent decision of the European Patent Office on the possibility of patenting the results of classical plant breeding. Finally, it will exchange views on bio-economy. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)