News

The Romanian Presidency held a conference on fighting antimicrobial resistance in Bucharest from 28/02/2019 to 01/03/2019 to identify the measures needed to be taken to improve prevention and control of infections at national and European level. The DG of DG SANTE, Anne Bucher expressed her satisfaction with the EU Anti-Microbial Resistance Action Plan (AMR). She offered to the countries in which the action plans are in the development phase the possibility of using the EU Structural Funds to speed up the development. Romania plans to draw up Council Conclusions under its Presidency, which will focus on helping less developed countries to combat antimicrobial resistance.

In November 2018, the European Parliament's Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI) presented EP’s draft report on CAP Strategic Plans, proposing that Member States should reduce the amount of direct payments if the amount exceeds the thresholds set by each country (but it should not be lower than EUR 100,000), at least by 25%. According to the original EP proposal, Member States could therefore set a reduction of, for example, amounts exceeding EUR 500,000 (no maximal amount was proposed by the EP). Approximately 5,000 amendments were sent to the draft report and many of them were related to the issue of capping. Within the drafting of compromise amendments, the European Parliament withdrew from its initial proposal to the option of a mandatory reduction of direct payments of more than EUR 150 000 by 25%, and subsequently reduced the threshold to EUR 100 000 in internal negotiations.

However, according to preliminary information, the AGRI Committee in its most recent versions of the compromise amendments from the end of February 2019, is inclined to a full compulsory capping of over EUR 100 000 for direct payments, while proposing that only 50% of staff costs could be deducted from the total amount before capping. Compensation of staff costs should now be voluntary depending on the Member States (in previous versions, Parliament proposed that staff costs should be deducted at the farmers’ request). The AGRI Committee still proposes the option not to implement the article on the capping for those Member States which decide to grant additional redistributive income support to farmers and benefit from more than 7% of the national annual envelope for direct payments. The AGRI Committee initially proposed 5%. In practice, this would mean that full capping of more than EUR 100,000 would not have to be imposed by Member States if they would allocate at least 7% for redistributive payments. Redistributive payments should be according to AGRI Committee compulsory.

The AGRI Committee’s compromise proposals for capping are similar to the proposals of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI), which adopted its position on 14/02/2019 (as we have informed previously here). The ENVI Committee has supported a full capping of direct payments over EUR 80.000 and no deduction of staff costs.

According to preliminary information, the AGRI Committee also provides for the definition of a real or active farmer in its latest compromise proposals. According to the AGRI Committee, Member States should be obliged to define the concept of an active farmer in order to ensure that no aid is granted to those whose farming activities account for only an insignificant part of their overall economic activity. AGRI further adds that Member States may exclude from this definition individuals or groups linked or managed by large agricultural businesses.

The AGRI Committee continues to discuss the form of coupled support (VCS). The AGRI Committee originally proposed to expand the list of commodities to which such aid could be granted; further enlargement of the list should have been allowed to Member States as well. But according to the latest information, AGRI will not support adding to the list of originally proposed potatoes, feed crops, pork and poultry meat or eggs. At the same time, it will not support any further enlargement of the list by Member States.

The AGRI Committee should vote on its position in the first half of April 2019, the AGRI Committee meetings are scheduled to take place on 02/04/2019 and 08/04/2019.

On 21/02/2019, the Romanian Presidency sent an unofficial document to the Member States within the EU Agriculture Council proposing three options for reducing direct payments - compulsory capping, mandatory reductions and mandatory progressive reductions in direct payments. All possibilities are based on the mandatory implementation of capping or reductions; all apply only to basic income support for sustainability (VCS payments, redistributive payments, eco-schemes and schemes for young farmers should be excluded). Specific numbers have not been published, thresholds and percent reduction are not yet known. Only suggested mandatory capping anticipates the original Commission’s proposal - a full capping of more than EUR 100,000, a gradual digressively from EUR 60,000. Member States should be enabled to decide whether to deduct staff costs from the amount. Furthermore, Member States would not have to implement the Article on the capping / reduction of direct payments if they decided to allocate at least 10% of the envelope for redistributive payments. With this compromise, the Romanian presidency is complying with the wishes of an expanding group of countries that support mandatory capping, including now also France.

The next Council of Agriculture Ministers will take place on .18/03/2019.

The Council Discussion Paper is available here.

On 20/02/2019, Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Phil Hogan discussed with representatives of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) on the reform of the CAP after 2020. The EESC has supported the new CAP implementation mechanism. The president of the EESC Section for Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment, Maurizio Reale, has supported the CAP's focus on climate change, he says that attention should also be paid to protecting EU farmers in negotiating trade agreements with third countries. The Irish representative of the EESC, John Bryan, claimed that the CAP after 2020 must be a strong policy with a strong budget. President of the EESC’s Sustainable Development Observatory, Peter Schmidt has supported other initiatives that aim at fighting unfair commercial practices in the food supply chain and including Sustainable Development Objectives into the food policy framework. Commissioner Hogan said that according to EU citizens, the CAP should remain a common policy, but it needs to advocate for a sufficient budget by providing other public goods. According to Hogan, CAP budget support is possible if the European Parliament and the EU Member States are involved.

In order to solve the quality issues of some imported foodstuffs from Poland, the Czech Republic has introduced extraordinary veterinary measures requiring control of imported food from the PL to the CS. All findings of unsafe meat have been reported to the European Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF). Intensive communication between the Commission, PL, SK and CS has been going on in recent days. The Commission has confirmed the seriousness of the situation, but the implemented measures are still perceived as inadequate and on 26/02/2019, the Commission ordered the termination of the extraordinary controls. Minister of Agriculture of the Czech Republic, Miroslav Toman on 01/03/2019 refused to terminate import controls as a reaction to the discovery of more unsanitary meat from PL. Minister Toman should meet with Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Vytenis Andriukaitis on 06/03/2019; on 07/03/2019, this issue will be discussed at the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed (SCOPAFF). Further steps will result from the outcome of the bilateral negotiations.

The Polish meat industry has pledged to introduce zero tolerance punishments for businesses responsible for illegal slaughter of animals. The businesses face unconditional imprisonment and a ban on further business in the industry. At the same time, industry representatives have proposed a six-year ban on practices for veterinarians who have violated control rules; and 24-hour surveillance at slaughterhouses, from cattle feeding to meat labelling. The Commission is currently working with Poland on introducing a new action plan to eliminate beef contaminated with salmonella that has been exported to the Czech and Slovak Republics.