News

A Just Transition Fund, which will receive €7.5 billion of fresh EU funds, should be shared among Member States. According to the latest figures, the largest share should go to Poland, which should receive up to EUR 2 billion. The second largest share should then be acquired by Germany, totalling EUR 877 million. This should be followed by Romania (EUR 757 million) and the Czech Republic (EUR 581 million). Italy (EUR 364 million), Spain (EUR 307 million) and France (EUR 400 million) will be around EUR 300-400 million. Luxembourg should have the smallest share (EUR 4 million). According to the plans published in mid-January, the Mechanism will be part of a € 100 billion "fund" to help countries dependent on fossil fuels, coal, gas and oil to contribute to the European goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. However, these amounts will not be automatically allocated to Member States, and funding will be approved based on regional plans, which will have to specify exactly how the money will be spent.
More information is available here.

Croatian Minister of Agriculture Marija Vučkovic spoke at the European Parliament's Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development on 22/01/2020, presenting agricultural priorities of the Croatian Presidency. According to her, an ambitious budget for the CAP and simplification and sustainability of the whole policy must be ensured. European Green Deal and the Farm to Fork Strategy will be the key areas of interest in coming months; agriculture will play a vital role in protecting the environment and biodiversity. Vučkovic also said that the CAP should support those farmers who are committed to protecting natural resources and the environment. She also supported the provision of support for small family farms, that represent 97% of the agricultural community in Croatia. She also stressed the strengthening of animal welfare standards, as well as the role of forestry.

Under its Presidency, Croatia looks forward to the approval of the first part of the Commission proposal for a transitional period towards the post-2020 CAP during the January Ministerial Council on 27/01/2020. The first part of the proposal concerns flexibility and redeployment between the first and second pillar of the CAP. The Croatian Minister of Agriculture Marija Vučkovic said that Croatia will do its utmost to approve the proposal as soon as possible, in order to avoid delaying payments to farmers during 2021. No amendments are tabled in the proposal, the approval should be a formality. The second part of the proposal, covering inter alia the length of the transitional period, could then be approved in the spring, probably during the April Council of Ministers. The European Parliament, the Council and the Commission could then reach agreement in the framework of the trialogues as early as mid-2020.
More information is available here.

The Ministers of Agriculture of France (Didier Guillaume), Germany (Julia Klöckner) and Spain (Luis Planas) stressed in their common position the need to ensure food security in the EU, the development of rural areas and the viability of EU farms. According to their common position, EU agricultural policy should contribute more to the protection of the environment and the climate and should also play a key role in achieving the 2050 carbon neutrality target. According to FR, ES and DE, a smaller number of outcome indicators (ideally only one for each specific CAP objective) should be included in the CAP. Cross-compliance should be a cornerstone of the whole policy and should be applied fairly to all farming systems, but controls should be adapted to small farmers. Eco-schemes should be mandatory for Member States, and farmers could use them on a voluntary basis. A protein crop strategy should also be developed at EU level.
More information is available here.

The agricultural priorities of the new government in Spain will include setting trade (and customs) relations with the US, ensuring an adequate budget for the CAP and supporting young farmers and women in the agricultural sector. Minister of Agriculture Luis Planas said that Spain plans to send the draft of the Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plan to the European Commission for approval in July 2020; consequently, this proposal should be presented outside the Commission in early 2021.