The Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union has invited the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to take part in the meeting of EU agriculture ministers on 26 February, when they will be discussing measures to simplify the Common Agricultural Policy, according to statements made on Tuesday 13 February by the Belgian minister, David Clarinval.
Speaking at an event organised by the Farm Europe think tank, Mr Clarinval said that the President of the European Commission had not yet responded to the invitation (see EUROPE 13348/12).
At the beginning of February, Ursula von der Leyen promised that the Commission would come up with ideas to reduce the administrative burden on farmers. Recommendations are to be presented by the Commission ahead of the Agriculture Council meeting on 26 February.
For its part, the Belgian Presidency of the Council has asked Member States to provide suggestions for simplification.
The Commissioner for Agriculture, Janusz Wojciechowski, has put forward three proposals: - not to apply penalties for non-compliance with good agricultural and environmental conditions (GAEC); - to authorise Member States to use national funds to top up the European CAP budget by up to 10% (an extension due to the reduction in the agricultural budget as a result of inflation); - to simplify the administrative procedure for paying direct aid.
MEPs are calling on the Commission to do more. During a debate on strategic dialogue in the European Parliament Agriculture Committee on Tuesday 13 February, Herbert Dorfmann (EPP, Italian) spoke of the need to review certain rules on cross-compliance of aid, including GAEC 6 (minimum soil cover, with obligations on when to plough a field), in addition to the derogation from the rules on set-aside (see EUROPE 13349/3). He also criticised the hasty opening up of the European market to Ukrainian products and suggested incentives to produce products in Ukraine that are in demand in the EU.
Clara Aguilera (S&D, Spanish) considered that the free trade agreements with Morocco and South Africa should also be discussed, not just the one with the Mercosur countries. She felt that European Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski should resign as European Commissioner for Agriculture.
Jérémy Decerle (Renew Europe, French) believes that we need to provide answers on international trade, ensure that farmers receive more money and support farmers in environmental matters (technical, financial and human resources). Martin Häusling (Greens/EFA, German), for his part, called for a correction of the imbalance in CAP aid, which mainly benefits big business.
“We don’t want to be hijacked by this or that political party, which is being more flattering today than it was in the past”, said Christiane Lambert, President of Copa (EU farming organisations). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)