The Irish Presidency of the European Council has secured an agreement on the Common Agricultural Policy(CAP), paving the way for significant reforms of EU agricultural policy after 21 months of negotiations. Agreement was finally reached late on Wednesday afternoon between the European Commission, the European Parliament and EU member states, represented by Irish minister for agriculture, Simon Coveney.
The new agreement on the CAP will govern agricultural policy and payments to farmers in the 27 EU member states from 2014 to 2020.
Some of the most significant changes under the reforms include the manner in which the Single Farm Payment is distributed amongst farmers, along with new measures to promote environmentally-sustainable agriculture.
Under the new system for distributing the Single Farm Payment, the monetary support will be calculated on a per hectare basis, rather than being linked to productivity, as in the past. The new CAP will see several countries, including Eastern European countries such as the Baltic states and Romania, receiving an increase in their entitlements, as countries are brought towards a minimum payment.
The way that payments are distributed through individual member states is also set to change under a process called 'internal convergence', meaning that farmers will now be entitled to a minimum level of payment. To facilitate this redistribution, around 50,000 Irish farmers who are currently on higher payments will see a dip in their annual payment, while farmer who are currently receiving below the average amount will see their payments increase. The new rules on direct payments include specific support for young farmers and those farming in "less-favoured areas".
Sugar quotas are also set to be abolished by 2017 under the new CAP proposal, giving countries the option to enter the market if they wish.
In terms of environmental measures, 30 per cent of the Single Farm Payment will be linked to ‘greening ‘measures,’ with the EU to invest €100 billion to help farmers meet climate change and biodiversity challenges.
"This agreement will lead to far-reaching changes: making direct payments fairer and greener, strengthening the position of farmers within the food production chain and making the CAP more efficient and transparent" EU commissioner food agriculture and rural development Dacian Ciolos said.
European farmers association Copa-Cogeca also welcomed the deal, but noted that the "devil will be in the detail" in how the agreement would be implemented. (28 June)
© 2013 - ESM: European Supermarket Magazine by Ellen Lunney
