On Tuesday, 2 April, the European Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture voted in favour of postponing the introduction of the new strategic plans on the post-2020 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for two years (until 2022).
With the adoption of more than 100 compromise amendments, the Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture passed—with 27 votes in favour, 17 against, and 1 abstention—the postponement presented by Esther Herranz García (EPP, Spain) regarding the strategic plans for the future CAP.
Reducing payments to large farms. MEPs’ position is that Member States would be required to cap annual direct payments at €100,000, while allowing farmers to deduct 50% of their agriculture-related income (before the payment is reduced). Member States would have the option of avoiding the mandatory application of the capping if they allocate at least 10% of the first pillar envelope to ‘redistributive payment’ (premiums for the first hectares).
EU countries could allocate at least 5% of national direct payments to small and medium-sized farmers using precisely this ‘redistributive payment’.
Young people and women. At least 2% of the budgets related to national direct payments should go to young farmers (a special per-hectare supplement for the first seven years). Young farmers could benefit from additional aid under rural development funding.
MEPs also want Member States to use rural development funds to support specific measures aiming to promote better inclusion of women in rural economies.
Convergence of aid. The adopted amendments expect all per-hectare payments destined for farmers within Member States or their territories to reach at least 75% of their average direct subsidies by 2024 and 100% by 2027.
New implementation model postponed until 2022. According to MEPs, the new implementation model—based on national strategic plans that are expected to be presented by Member States and approved by the European Commission—should be postponed until 2022.
Environmental programmes. Certain NGOs (such as WWF and Greenpeace), the Greens/EFA, and certain S&D members in the Parliament are rather critical of the Committee on Agriculture due to its lack of ambition regarding the environmental dimension of the CAP in particular.
At least 20% of first pillar aid should be allocated to the new climate, environment, and animal welfare schemes (‘eco-schemes’), according to the approved amendments. The Environment Committee had set a minimum target of 30%. The scope of the new ‘eco-schemes’ is also being extended to animal welfare measures.
MEPs moreover decided to allocate at least 30% of the rural development budget to environmental and climate-related measures.
MEPs took up the proposal to oblige all Member States to set up farm advisory services (information on aid, ways to prevent antimicrobial resistance, and support for digital technologies).
The notion of active farmers (persons eligible for direct payments) should be defined by Member States, according to MEPs, who stress that this definition must preserve the family farming model. They added that companies—but not groups of farmers—engaged in large-scale processing of agricultural products could be excluded from support.
Transfers between pillars. MEPs are authorising up to 15% of the direct payment envelope to be transferred to the budget dedicated to rural development measures, nevertheless providing that the transferred funds are used for ‘eco-schemes’.
Transfers from the rural development envelope to direct payments would be limited to 5% (and not 15% as the Commission proposed). Exceptions would be granted only to Croatia, Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia, which could transfer up to 15% of funds from the second to the first pillar, provided that 5% is allotted to ‘eco-schemes’.
Esther Herranz García felt that the CAP’s green architecture has been “strengthened, putting a stronger accent on an incentive-based approach”. MEPs defended maintaining the CAP budget at its current level “and I hope the EU governments support our call”, she concluded.
“I voted against the Herranz García report, which does not meet the challenges of human health, climate, and protecting our environment. We need a revolution in our agricultural policy, not a status quo until 2025”, declared MEP Eric Andrieu (S&D, France).
The next European Parliament will decide whether to bring it to a vote in plenary or whether the Committee on Agriculture should reexamine the proposal on strategic plans. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)