The RSPB has slammed leaked European Commission proposals leaked on Friday which it says amount to 'greenwashing.' The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) proposals, which were leaked ahead of their publication in October, fail to adequately support the environment or give farmers an understanding of their role as custodians of the countryside, according to the RSPB. image expired

The RSPB said its chief concerns were suggested cuts to targeted environmental schemes, such as those which help farmland bird species, as part of pillar 2. Although the leaked proposals reveal 30 per cent of pillar one support (direct payments) may be reliant on new greening measures, the charity said this would prove "a real own goal" if it came at the expense of agri-environment schemes which have yielded positive results.

Gareth Morgan, RSPB head of countryside conservation, said, "These proposals fail to deliver on the promise to justify the CAP budget at a time of great pressure on resources. They also fail to give a clear signal to Europe’s farmers about their long term role."

Mr Morgan continued, "We have been working hard campaigning on this issue and our supporters have really stepped up to make their voices heard. An amazing 11,000 people in the UK, and a further 2,000 across Europe, have contacted European commissioners calling on them to make these essential reforms really work for the environment. 

"Europe spends billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money supporting farming through the CAP and those taxpayers want reassurances that it is going to be spent responsibly.  Instead, the Commission offers us greenwash – a few measures that might do some good, but not the fundamental reform that is needed."