The Council of the EU and the European Parliament have the same approach to the 2021 (30%) and 2022 (70%) payment arrangements for the agricultural funds in the EU’s post-Covid-19 Economic Recovery Plan, which consists of €8 billion from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD).
In a working document, MEP Paolo De Castro (S&D, Italy) proposes following the approach of the German Presidency of the Council of the EU by including in the regulation on transitional measures for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) an article relating to payment of aid under the EU’s Economic Recovery Plan, in a 30/70% split (see EUROPE 12557/28).
The coordinators of the European Parliament Committee on Agriculture approved this approach on 22 September. De Castro (S&D, Italy), the rapporteur, has drafted amendments in a working document which include the amount of aid to be distributed as follows: €2.387 billion (current prices) in 2021 and €5.683 billion in 2022. Members have until 29 September to table their amendments.
European Parliament/Council of the EU negotiations to finalise the compromise on transitional measures for the CAP may be conducted soon (see EUROPE 12553/12, 12517/10).
Compromise amendments on strategic plans. In a fortnight’s time, MEPs on the European Parliament Committee on Agriculture are expected to draft compromise amendments on strategic plans, which is an important issue for the post-2020 CAP. The political groups have all drafted their positions on the proposal for a regulation dealing with strategic plans. The European Parliament vote on this post-2020 CAP issue is scheduled for the plenary session of 19-22 October. The Council of the EU also hopes to reach a general approach in October. The trilogues for a full European Parliament/Council of the EU agreement could start in the meantime. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)