The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has made some minimal concessions to the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, to appease critics, particularly farmers, over the ‘national and regional partnership plans’ (NRPP) proposed for the 2028-2034 period of the EU’s future multiannual financial framework (MFF), according to think tank Farm Europe on Monday 10 November.
No formal changes to the proposal are being considered at this stage; only suggestions for amendments are being put to MEPs, notes the think tank (see other news).
As far as the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) budget is concerned, transferring certain articles from the NRPP regulation to the CAP implementing regulation “is far from solving the structural problem created by the single fund”, Farm Europe argues, with the CAP remaining dependent on external discussions and framed by a performance framework that is ill-suited to the realities of agriculture.
As far as the role of the European Parliament is concerned, the new ‘strategic’ framework proposed by the Commission makes governance even more complex, and MEPs would only be invited to discuss the national envelopes already allocated on an annual basis.
Furthermore, the ‘rural’ target of 10% to be devoted to measures outside the agricultural envelope remains insufficient, according to Farm Europe: in Ireland and France, full funding of these measures would require 25% and 16% respectively.
The core CAP measures would still be cut by 17.6% (taking into account measures that could be financed outside the ring-fenced envelope of €293.7 billion over the period 2028-2034), without any additional investment capacity, Farm Europe (see EUROPE 13746/8) finally points out.
Eric Sargiacomo (S&D, French) told Agence Europe on Monday that Ms von der Leyen’s proposal “merely shifts a few measures from one regulation to another: it changes nothing”. He pointed out that there are already numerous funding programmes within the CAP, such as POSEI for the outermost regions, the school meal scheme, and sectoral support for the fruit and vegetable and wine sectors. These programmes have proven their effectiveness and have helped to build communities of stakeholders between Member States. With the single fund, “all this risks being lost, because European capitals will have a free hand to do what they want”, warns Mr Sargiacomo.
The Commission also plans to hold annual budget trilogues between the three institutions to define priorities and make recommendations to Member States on the use of the single fund. “It looks good on paper, but in reality, we know that the renationalisation of the CAP has already reduced the Commission’s influence on national choices to nothing”, says Mr Sargiacomo.
To find out more, visit https://aeur.eu/f/jcu (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)