Agriculture Committee MEPs meeting in Strasbourg will debate and vote on amendments to the European Common Agricultural Policy on Monday, before voting by the European Parliament as a whole on Tuesday and Wednesday (12th and 13th March).

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The reforms, which were negotiated by members of the Parliament Agriculture Committee (Comagri) in January, have been the subject of much controversy since the results of voting were announced.

At the meeting in Strasbourg, Comagri MEPs will look at over 300 amendments ahead of the plenary vote, as Parliament rules dictate that, when there are more than 50 amendments, only those with ten percent of committee members' support will go through for the final vote. This is the first CAP reform process in which the European Parliament has had equal input; as a result, reforms suggested by the executive EU Commission have been amended to reflect the desires of individual member states more closely.

Although in January, agriculture committee MEPs voted to distribute payments more evenly both across and within individual member states, they also reduced the commitment to environmental protection, which was a major feature of the EU Commission's CAP reform proposal. In the UK, industry groups have expressed concern that moves to make 15 percent of CAP funds transferable between pillars one and two will mean they lose out, as the UK government will likely shift funds into rural development (pillar two), whilst other states' governments award greater subsidy payments to farmers.   

Commenting on January's Comagri vote, Yorkshire Labour MEP Linda McAvan remarked, "A lot of colleagues are not satisfied with the compromises made in the agricultural committee." Her colleague on the environmental committee, German social democrat Dagmar Roth-Behrendt added "the views of [of the agriculture committee] are light years apart" from those of the environment and food committee, and the EP plenary as a whole.