MEPs approved, on Tuesday 23 November, three compromise texts between EU institutions aimed at reforming the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
The EU Council is due to do the same on 2 December.
The new CAP will enter into force on 1 January 2023, as the process of presenting and adopting the CAP strategic plans is due to take place next year.
Peter Jahr (EPP, Germany)’s text on strategic plans was supported with 452 votes in favour, 178 against and 57 abstentions (the motion to reject tabled by The Left Group was supported by 153 MEPs, including 37 from the S&D Group, almost all members of the Greens/EFA Group and about 20 from The Left Group).
The European Parliament approved (485 votes in favour, 142 against and 61 abstentions) the text on the horizontal regulation, for which the rapporteur is Ulrike Müller (Renew Europe, Germany), and also the text carried by Éric Andrieu (S&D, France) on the Common Market Organisation (CMO), with 487 votes in favour, 130 against and 71 abstentions.
The three rapporteurs welcomed the adoption of the reform at a joint press conference.
“We have to give this reform a chance”, said Mr Jahr, who welcomed the ambition of eco-regimes, even if the scheme is voluntary. The agreement includes a requirement for Member States to allocate at least 25% of their income support budget to eco-regimes, or €48 billion of the direct payments budget, with the possibility of allocating only 20% in 2023 and 2024 (see EUROPE 12749/1).
Ms Müller welcomed the fact that the single audit approach has been retained.
Mr Andrieu recalled the progress made on the issue of market regulation. “For the first time in more than 30 years, thanks to the common market organisation part of the CAP reform, the reforms approved today will mean more market regulation than deregulation”, he said. He also mentioned the progress made in renewing the European crisis management tools and financing production cuts in case of overproduction.
The EPP wants to be “the farmers’ party”. During the plenary debate, Anne Sander (EPP, France), speaking on behalf of her group, said that this agreement would make it possible to “maintain a balance between the necessary economic development of agricultural sectors and rural areas, the essential support for the income of our farmers and the indispensable transition of European agriculture towards greater sustainability”. According to Ms Sander, the support schemes of the future CAP and the financial and control requirements “will remain common, a necessary guarantee to limit distortions of competition within the internal market”.
The group’s president, Manfred Weber, spoke on the CAP in plenary.
At a press conference, he said that the reform represented “a significant step forward” and recalled that “the EPP defines itself as the party of farmers”. “We must do our best to keep Europe’s food production independent”, Mr Weber added.
MEPs of the Renew Europe group, such as the Czech, Martin Hlaváček, or Jérémy Decerle from France, voted for the reform. “I welcome the strengthened balance between the CAP’s economic and environmental ambitions”, Mr Decerle said.
Bert-Jan Ruissen (ECR, Netherlands) asked, on behalf of his group, to “support the farmers”. This compromise deserves to be supported, he said. Mazaly Aguilar (ECR, Spain) was much more critical of the proposed model. “Farmers are in the red”, she said.
For Identity and Democracy (ID), the Czech MEP, Ivan David, said his group could not support the reform as proposed. He criticised the elements of the ‘Farm to Fork’ strategy which will reduce agricultural production by 20% and increase prices by 10%.
S&D group divided. The French and German delegations in the S&D group generally voted against some of the texts, notably the one on strategic plans.
But members who spoke on behalf of the group, including Paolo De Castro (S&D, Italy), defended the negotiated package. Mr De Castro admitted that the group to which he belongs has been critical of the proposed reform. “But we have continued to work to improve it, until we reach the current balance between the three levels of economic, social and environmental sustainability”, he said. “For the first time, we have introduced a system of conditionality that will prevent public funds from ending up in the pockets of those who do not respect workers’ rights”, he insisted.
Speaking to the press, the group’s President, Iratxe García (S&D, Spain), spoke of an “essential” reform. “Of course, the reform is not perfect, but there are fundamental elements, including social conditionality: this is historic! This is thanks to the work of the S&D group”, she said. The CAP reform and the ‘Farm to Fork’ and ‘Biodiversity’ strategies will “adapt agriculture and livestock farming to the new challenges of sustainable development”, she also promised.
On the French side, Éric Andrieu voted against the text on strategic plans, because, for him, it is “economic, budgetary, environmental and social nonsense”, (see EUROPE 12835/1).
Maria Noichl (S&D, Germany) noted some positive points (social conditionality), but mostly negative ones, such as the fact that 75% of aid goes to large farms. Above all, she protested against the method of negotiating this CAP.
“A dark day”, according to the Greens/EFA group. Members of the Greens/EFA and The Left groups were highly critical of the compromise reached and generally voted against texts on the CAP that would not respect the European Green Deal.
Martin Häusling (Greens/EFA, Germany) called it a “dark day” for the CAP.
“This is not a reform nor even a springboard for reform, it is a mess”, said Tilly Metz (Greens/EFA, Luxembourg).
“To postpone this copy of the CAP today is to take seriously the warnings of scientists who call on us to act urgently, with determination and without delay”, stressed Benoît Biteau (Greens/EFA, France).
Ska Keller, Co-President of the Greens/EFA group, said that “we need a CAP that contributes to the fight against climate change and biodiversity and that mainly helps small farmers and farmers who are already trying to do a lot for the climate and biodiversity. And those are left out, because most of the funds will go to the biggest”.
“There is nothing green about this CAP”, said the Co-President, Philippe Lamberts.
In the plenary debate, Ming Flanagan (The Left, Ireland) curiously stated on behalf of his group: “We could have done much better, but I am not going to vote against the CAP”.
The group’s Co-President, Manon Aubry (The Left, France), for her part, deplored the fact that a large part of the aid goes to the 20% largest farms and that the eco-regimes ”are ecological in name only”. “The overwhelming majority of our group will vote against this CAP, not the whole group”, she admitted.
The Commission reassures. Janusz Wojciechowski, the Commissioner for Agriculture, spoke of a “good result” that will allow the CAP to ensure a transition to more sustainable agriculture. In his speech he detailed the elements of the agreement (https://bit.ly/30MARCB ). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur, with the editorial staff)