On Tuesday 1 October in Brussels, Janusz Wojciechowski, Commissioner-designate for Agriculture and Rural Development, will defend a redistribution of direct payments from farmers and a gradual reduction of payments, while appearing before MEPs.
His first priority will be to work with the European Parliament and the Council of the EU to reach a political agreement on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), he explained in his replies to Members' written questions. The Pole believes that the CAP should put in place “a fairer support system that guarantees that public resources go where they are most needed”. In line with the proposals already made on the post-2020 CAP, he therefore supports mandatory rules at EU level to redistribute direct payments and gradually reduce them, to the benefit of small family farms. In addition, “our young farmers also need more support to overcome the obstacles” they face in entering the sector (such as access to land, credit...), he said.
Voluntary environmental schemes? Regarding agriculture's contribution to climate change, the Commissioner-designate may be a little less ambitious than his predecessor, Phil Hogan, by advocating a combination of mandatory conditions for all EU farmers, with more emphasis on voluntary environmental schemes (such as agro-environment- climate measures or future eco-schemes).
The European Green Deal will set the vision and strategy for European farming for decades to come, and “I will make sure that the contribution of European agriculture to climate protection is ambitious, fair and based on evidence”, we can read in the responses he provided. Janusz Wojciechowski was a member of the European Parliament and a member of the European Court of Auditors.
Our standards are not negotiable. Janusz Wojciechowski advocates sufficient flexibility with regard to the CAP's 'strategic plans' and, with regard to trade agreements, he considers that “wherever appropriate, sensitive agricultural products should continue receiving specific treatment in international negotiations so that the sensitivities are fully reflected in the final deal”. “Our rules and standards are not negotiable”, concludes Mr Wojciechowski, while many people are criticising the deal between the EU and Mercosur.
Link to the responses to the written questions: http://bit.ly/2lBBJ8g (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)