Experts from EU countries made progress on Monday 21 October on some elements of the post-2020 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) 'strategic plans', namely financial flexibility and types of sectoral interventions (see EUROPE 12348/12).
On financial flexibility, the delegations of the Special Committee on Agriculture (SCA) generally supported the drafting suggestions of the Finnish Presidency of the Council to further increase financial flexibility not only for direct payments but also for other types of interventions. Some delegations requested even more flexibility to avoid the loss of funding. Experts from EU countries generally supported the Presidency's suggestions on sectoral interventions, including the 'closed list' for other sectors. At the next SCA on 5 November, delegations will discuss green architecture in strategic plans. The European Parliament is due to vote in plenary at the beginning of 2020 on the reports regarding the future CAP (see EUROPE 12352/11).
In addition, on Tuesday in Strasbourg, between 650 and a thousand demonstrators, depending on numbers estimated by the prefecture or the organisers, took to the streets to demand another CAP. The procession rallied at the European complex to organize a "die-in" in front of the building, according to the organisers.
To consult the Finnish Presidency's proposals on financial flexibility: https://bit.ly/33Tjgom; to see those on sectoral interventions: https://bit.ly/2o846wd (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)