Portuguese Presidency of EU Council submits compromise texts to facilitate agreement with European Parliament on CAP reform

On Monday 21 June, the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union presented compromise texts to the experts of the Special Committee on Agriculture (SCA) on the three regulations relating to reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in order that a compromise could be facilitated with the European Parliament (see EUROPE 12744/7).

The ‘super trilogue’ between the EU institutions on the future CAP will take place on 24–25 June. The Agriculture Council, which is due to meet on 28 and 29 June in Luxembourg, could, should a compromise be reached, endorse the interinstitutional agreement on the CAP reform, which would then enter into force on 1 January 2023.

Suggestions made by the Portuguese Presidency of the EU Council, as seen by EUROPE, include:

• ‘green’ interventions under the EAFRD (second pillar of the CAP, rural development): 35%, with a weighting factor of 60% for payments to those areas with natural handicaps;
• good agricultural and environmental condition (GAEC): in respect of GAEC 9 (non-productive elements), reduction from 4% to 3% of the minimum share for set-asides and other non-productive elements if catch crops and nitrogen fixing crops are also included;
• alignment with the EU Green Deal: the National Strategic Plans on the CAP would be updated periodically to take the Green Deal legislation into account (the frequency of these updates is still the subject of discussion);
• coupled payments: the plan would be to include starch potatoes, while the maximum rate of coupled support for all sectors would be 13% +2%;
• social aspects: an administrative penalty would be introduced for beneficiaries of direct payments who do not adhere to the requirements on working and employment conditions or employer obligations. 

At the time of going to press, national experts in the SCA were still discussing these proposals tabled by the Portuguese Presidency of the EU Council.

See the seven compromise texts from the Portuguese Presidency: https://bit.ly/35DT0RP (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)