Brussels, 30/03/2007 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission must take greater account of the problems faced by the new member states in decisions on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), states the European Parliament, in its adoption, on Thursday 29 March in Brussels, of the own-initiative report by Csaba Sándor Tabajdi (EPP-ED, Hungary). The EP indicates that the integration of the 10 new Member States into the CAP in 2004 was “positive overall”, but it criticises the “low level” of direct aid received by these countries, creating “conditions of unfair competition” with the five “old” countries of the EU.
The EP has presented a list of these countries' demands, including: - the introduction of a revised direct payments system (with the possibility, if needs be, of refunding a certain percentage of aid related to production levels); - the extension of payments to new sectors (soft fruits for processing); - the introduction of optional, regional or temporary additional market measures (to be funded by the budget of the EU); - the use of the national envelope system for Community credit for sectors to be reformed (wines, fruits and vegetables); - the creation of an effective system for the management of risks and crises in agriculture, which would be eligible to aid from the budget of the EU; - increased flexibility in the rules for state aid (extending the scope of application for exemptions per category and increasing the “ de minimis” threshold). (lc)