On Monday 9 December, the EU agriculture ministers unanimously adopted conclusions on the post-2027 common agricultural policy (CAP).
Last October, the EU agriculture ministers were informed on specific conclusions of the Hungarian presidency. Romania has since finally accepted this text, which has now become EU Council conclusions (see EUROPE 13509/2).
Furthermore, in a statement (https://aeur.eu/f/eps ) that helped Romania accept the text of the conclusions, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia stress the need to achieve “full” external convergence in direct payments among Member States. These persistent differences lead to unequal market conditions, while the high standards and requirements of the CAP are the same for all EU farmers. “However, even in 2027, farmers of these Member States will still receive only around 80% of the EU average level of direct payment”, the statement says. Conversely, Italy opposes the external convergence of aid.
The French minister, Annie Genevard, stressed the importance of an “ambitious budget” for the CAP, while Spain spoke of the need to maintain a common CAP and equip it with effective crisis management tools.
The European Commission has been invited to take the EU Council’s conclusions into account when preparing its ‘Vision for Agriculture and Food’, scheduled for 19 February, according to the provisional timetable.
EU Council conclusions: https://aeur.eu/f/epv (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)