On Monday 28 June, the EU agriculture ministers backed the compromise elements worked out with the European Parliament negotiators on the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
Most ministers welcomed the outcome of the negotiations, but it is impossible at this stage to determine which Member States will vote against or abstain when it comes to the legislative texts on the reformed CAP (see EUROPE 12749/1).
According to Maria do Céu Antunes, the Portuguese Minister of Agriculture, the EU Council confirmed on Monday the “balanced” political agreement on the new CAP, after three years of negotiations.
Janusz Wojciechowski, Commissioner for Agriculture, clarified that the objectives of the biodiversity and Farm to Fork strategies are political objectives, which are not legally binding on individual farmers or Member States.
At the Agriculture Council, some ministers, including Latvia's, criticised the compromise linking the CAP to the objectives of the European Green Deal.
The French minister, Julien Denormandie, spoke of the need for flexible implementation of the provisions on Good Agricultural and Environmental Practices (GAEP) 8 and 9. The German minister, Julia Klöckner, said that increasing the share of non-productive areas to 4% will be a challenge for many farmers.
France and Spain asked for more work to end the tolerance of pesticide residues in imports.
Italy welcomed the results on social conditionality, the wine sector and reciprocity on imports.
Next steps. Work will now proceed at inter-institutional level on the final technical details of the reform, after which it will be formally adopted by the European Parliament and the EU Council.
The new CAP will cover the period 2023-2027. Member States will have until 31 December 2021 to submit their draft national strategic plans to the Commission. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)