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Federal Minister of Agriculture Julia Klöckner led the negotiations
Photo: FRANCOIS WALSCHAERTS / AFP
The EU states have agreed on a reform of the multi-billion dollar agricultural policy.
After almost two days of negotiations, the agriculture ministers of the member states agreed on a compromise proposal by the German EU Council Presidency on Wednesday morning in Luxembourg.
Since the European Parliament also wants to determine its final line this week, both sides can then start negotiations with one another.
Because Germany will hold the presidency of the EU states until the end of the year, Federal Agriculture Minister Julia Klöckner (CDU) led the negotiations.
After hours of talks in smaller formats, she went to the plenary session with the other ministers on Wednesday night around midnight with a new compromise proposal.
After further improvements, the compromise was achieved.
The agrarian reform is about hundreds of billions of euros - and thus the largest item in the EU budget.
Many farmers are dependent on direct payments from Brussels, but at the same time fear excessive environmental regulations.
The EU states had been negotiating the reform since Monday morning at the meeting in Luxembourg.
States should get more freedom
In 2018, the EU Commission proposed a comprehensive reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for the years 2021 to 2027.
There is now a transition phase for the next two years, so that new rules would not come into force until 2023.
According to the proposal of the EU Commission, the states should, among other things, have more freedom as to how they want to achieve a number of specified goals - such as preserving nature, protecting the climate and ensuring food quality.
To this end, they should each draw up national plans that would have to be approved by the EU Commission.
In addition, the states should offer "eco-regulations", that is, environmental specifications that go beyond the mandatory requirements.
If a farmer fulfills them, he receives additional money.
Whether the countries should be obliged to offer these so-called eco-schemes and how much money they should reserve for them was debated until the very end.
The compromise now provides, among other things, that EU states must reserve 20 percent of the direct payments to farmers for organic regulations - including a two-year "learning phase".
Late on Tuesday evening, the European Parliament had also agreed on key points of the reform.
According to this, at least 30 percent of the direct payments should be reserved for eco-regulations.
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ptz / dpa / AFP
