Strasbourg, 12/03/2004 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday in Strasbourg, the European Parliament approved the proposal that transposes the results of reform of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) into the Act of Accession of the ten new Member States that will be joining the EU on 1 May 2004. The EP adopted (consultation) the report by Lutz Goepel (CDU), which approves as such the proposal, which dates back to October 2003 (EUROPE of 29 October 2003). The Council of the EU must now adopt this decision (enacting unanimously).
The proposal mainly provides for the new direct payments introduced in the context of CAP reform (for energy crops, nuts and dairy products) to be gradually paid to the new Member States, as provided for in the Copenhagen agreement on the other direct aid (25% in 2004, 30% in 2005, 35% in 2006 and up to 100% as of 2013). The proposal maintains the possibility for the new Member States to apply until end 2008 the single payment system according to surface area (agreed during accession talks and which is simpler than the new single payment per farm system). As of 2009, the new Member States will only be able to opt for the single payment per farm (decided during the reform last June). The proposal safeguards the principle of direct national complementary payments ("topping up"). These measures will be applied in the context of the traditional regime until end 2006, in the context of the single payment system according to surface area until end 2008 and in the context of the new single payments per farm as of 2005. In the dairy products sector, changes arising from reform of CAP entailing quite significant changes (albeit technical) in the Accession Act (concerning above all the period of reference for reducing individual reference quantities that can benefit from a premium, the reference content for fats or the quotas for direct sales and deliveries).
The rapporteur also regrets that the Parliament was not consulted on the other proposal presented at the same time by the European Commission and which covers adjustment of the CAP reform texts so that they apply to the new Member States. This proposal of regulation must be adopted only by Council acting by qualified majority.