Brussels, 22/06/2009 (Agence Europe) - Presidency conclusions were adopted in Luxembourg on Monday 22 June on the future of the CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) after 2013, and in particular on direct payments. These, then, are Presidential, and not Agriculture Council, conclusions since several ministers opposed the text. The sum of what the ministers of the United Kingdom, Sweden, the Netherlands and Denmark said was they feared that one of the paragraphs, too positive with regard to the CAP and to direct payments, could be used in later negotiations on the review of the aid system. The Polish and Slovak ministers also opposed the text.
According to these conclusions, the Council notes that the CAP, including the direct payments scheme as developed, has helped EU farmers to adapt to changing market conditions including in times of economic crisis, to respond to societal demands and to foster sustainable agriculture across the EU.
In order to meet the challenges for agriculture after 2013, the Council considers that any future direct payment scheme will have to be fair and legitimate, effective, simple to implement, sufficiently flexible, and easy to justify and explain. With this in mind, inter alia, alternatives to the historical reference periods and data currently used will require to be considered; the role of direct payments in supporting income and rewarding the provision of public goods will need to be assessed; the specific situations in member states and/or certain sectors, as well as that of young farmers, will need to be taken into account.
The Council will continue its work on the future CAP which, under the in-coming Swedish Presidency, will concentrate on rural development. The council further welcomes the Commission's intention to submit a communication to Council in 2010 and to follow this up with legislative proposals in 2011, together with the proposals on the Financial Perspective. (L.C./transl.rt)