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CAP: deadlocked negotiations, between ecology and "bureaucracy"

2021-05-30T09:59:25.302Z


A proposal by European Agriculture Ministers on the future CAP was deemed by MEPs to be too far removed from their demands.


Negotiations on the reform of the CAP remained at an impasse Thursday evening in Brussels, between the environmental ambitions of MEPs and the will of states to limit “

bureaucratic

” and financial

constraints

for farmers.

Read also: CAP: the government wants to give priority to vegetable proteins and organic

A new proposal from European Agriculture Ministers on the future CAP, intended to apply from 2023, was deemed by MEPs still too far from their demands.

Ecoregimes

Negotiations between parliamentarians and member states will resume on Friday at 9 a.m., European Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski announced on Twitter, which several parliamentary sources then confirmed. The Twenty-Seven had approved in October 2020 the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, with a budget of 387 billion euros for seven years, including 270 billion in direct aid to farmers, but they must come to an agreement with the European Parliament .

Key issue: “

eco-regimes

”, bonuses granted to farmers participating in demanding environmental programs.

MEPs demanded that they represent at least 30% of direct payments to farmers, while states proposed a threshold of 20%: fierce discussions persist on this proportion, the duration of a possible transition and the reallocation of funds not used if this threshold is not reached.

Read also: Presentation of the French plan on the CAP: several organizations slam the door

States want to remain free to define the content of eco-regimes with "

flexibility

", but MEPs are calling for a strict framework and the alignment of national policies with European environmental and climate strategies (Green Pact, organic farming objectives, quantified reduction of pesticides ...). Other issues (crisis reserve, aid for difficult natural areas, etc.) are also subject to debate.

There will be no majority in Parliament to support a CAP that is not aligned with the Green Deal.

We can discuss the means, but remain unshakeable on the objective and the need for coherence,

”hammered the MEP Pascal Canfin (Renew, Liberals) Thursday evening.

"

After three days of negotiations, it is high time to have an honest and ambitious proposal from the Portuguese Presidency of the EU

", which is negotiating on behalf of the States, added Norbert Lins (EPP, right), negotiator for the Parliament .

"

Considerable work

"

Active on the environmental side, Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans gave them his support: "

There is still considerable work to be done to overcome the status quo

" with a view to "a

policy in line with the Green Pact

", he tweeted. On the side of the States, there is a concern for “

pragmatism

”. "

We need ambitious goals, but they must be achievable,

" Portuguese Minister Maria do Céu Antunes warned on Wednesday. His French counterpart, Julien Denormandie, then considered

a compromise

illusory

” on the basis of Parliament's proposal.

"

Farmers should not be buried in bureaucracy (...) We want to reward environmental practices, but it must be financially feasible

", insisted German Minister Julia Klöckner.

States also refuse to make subsidies to farmers conditional on compliance with social standards, with possible sanctions - a demand from social democratic MEPs.

To break the deadlock, Anne Sander, another negotiator (EPP) of the Parliament, advocated Thursday the "

balance

": "

Without economic sustainability, there will be no environmental and climate sustainability

".

Read also: About 200 farmers at the headquarters of Pôle Emploi to defend a "CAP for employment"

Copa-Cogeca, a powerful federation of majority European agricultural unions, is alarmed by the turn of the debates. "

With a continuous decline in income and stiff international competition, farmers will find it difficult to implement these major environmental requirements

," its president Christiane Lambert warned Thursday evening.

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2021-05-30

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