24 June 2011

MEPs voted yesterday to maintain the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) budget at its current level until 2020. The European Parliament backed a report rejecting cuts to rural development aid in advance of negotiations over the fate of CAP after 2013; the parliament advised maintaining both pillars of CAP to focus on food security.

The report backed by the MEPs supports financial incentives for farmers who use sustainable methods and suggests linking payments to emissions reduction targets, adoption of renewable energies and environmentally-friendly farming techniques. Echoing ministers at the G20 Agricultural Ministers’ Meeting held in Paris this week, the parliamentarians also proposed a worldwide notification system of current states of stocks to counter volatility caused by speculation in agricultural commodities.

The members of parliament also called on the EU to introduce a ceiling on the amount any individual farmer can receive, which they said would result in a more equitable distribution of CAP, benefitting smaller producers. Furthermore, to avoid the misuse of public money, MEPs recommended that direct payments be reserved for "active farmers", who actually use their land for production.

Proposal promotes ‘win win’ outcome of environmental protection and food security

Albert Dess, a member of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, declared, "The EU's agricultural policy will need to provide food security in the face of a growing world population. Moreover, the contribution of European farmers is crucial for the protection of the environment. The future common agricultural policy must meet both aims.

"With today's vote, the parliament is sending a clear signal in favour of a strong EU agricultural policy. Now it is the European Commission's turn. Its legislative proposal must show how food security in Europe will be ensured in the future, and how an adequate livelihood for our farmers, including sufficient planning security, can be maintained."

The autumn will see the EC put forward its proposals before any final changes to the CAP, which accounts for 48 per cent of total EU spending, are agreed upon.

However, conservative voices within the parliament expressed disappointment at the proposals; James Nicholson MEP, of the European Conservatives and Reformists group, said his fellow Conservatives, “fundamentally disagree with the idea of capping payments to large farms.” He continued, “we do not like some of the social and market interventionist ideas in it."

Calls to monitor the milk market

To guarantee milk supply security, MEPs asked the Commission to monitor the milk market and use suitable policy instruments for milk and milk products continuing after 2015; the current quota system will be scrapped in 2014.