CAP reform views at a glance
Over the past 10 days, MEPS and ministers have agreed their own negotiating stances on some key CAP reform issues. It is a significant step forward – although there is still a great deal of wrangling ahead. Some of the key areas up for debate as are follows:
Capping
There is a difference of opinion between EU ministers and the European Parliament on the issue of capping payments. MEPs voted last week for the mandatory capping of payments with a €300,000 ceiling. The European Commission is also in favour of such a move. But the EU Farm Council would prefer to see member states given the option to CAP payments if they so wish.
Individual countries would decide by what percentage they would cut payments and above what level of payment should be capped. Farm leader have long argued against the introduction of a subsidy ceiling on the grounds that it would unfairly penalise UK farmers who have larger farms than producers in many other European countries.
Coupling
MEPs favour increasing the percentage of their direct payment budget they are allowed to pay as coupled support to 15%. In contrast, EU ministers have concluded that member states, including the UK, that have made the most progress in decoupling payments will be allowed to pay up to 7% of their direct payment budget as coupled payments. Member states already applying coupled aid will be allowed up to 12%. This position has divided opinion within the UK. DEFRA secretary Owen Paterson argues that coupled payments are a thing of the past and he would like to see them discontinued. However, Scotland has already indicated it will be pushing for a higher percentage than 7%.
Sugar beet quota
Farm ministers have decided they would like to see sugar beet quotas removed by 2017. The European Parliament is pushing for a longer phase-out period, suggesting that sugar beet quotas are retained to the 2019/2020 growing season.
Cross-compliance
MEPs on the agriculture committee voted in January to remove sheep EID from a list of cross-compliance measures that can result in single farm payment penalties being applied to farmers. But when it came to the vote of the entire European Parliament last week, MEPs reversed this decision – although they did say they supported efforts to make the penalty system more proportionate.
Young farmers
This is another area where the European Parliament and farm ministers look set to clash. The commission and MEPs want any young farmers scheme to be compulsory, whereas ministers have decided they want it to be optional for each member state.
Greening
DEFRA secretary Owen Paterson has won the right for the UK government to introduce its own environmental scheme, rather than greening measures proposed by Brussels (News, p6). Plans elsewhere are that farmers with more than 10ha of arable land would have to grow two different crops on that land and no crop could cover more than 75% of the arable land. Those with more than 30ha would have to grow three different crops. Farmers would also have to establish ecological focus areas – the EU’s term for environmental set-aside – but the rate has been cut from 7% to 3% in the first year of implementation and 5% in subsequent years. Each country would get to decide what should count as an EFA. Rules would also be introduced to maintain levels of permanent grassland.