News

European farmers are asking the European Commission to amend the laws that currently prohibit the wolf and bear hunting in the European Union. In recent years, predominantly wolf populations have increased in Europe, which endangers farm animals, with the result that Member States have to pay millions of euros each year to compensate for losses. Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Phil Hogan and Environment Commissioner Karmenu Vella sent a letter to Member States on 11/02/2019 (available here) stating that the European Commission will continue to support the states when facing problems with these beasts. At the same time, however, they pointed out that the Commission's objective is to continue to support the growth of the predatory mammal population, thus it has not backed up the release of current rules.

On 19/02/2019, the European Commission approved an offer for sale of 1,684 tonnes of skimmed-milk powder (SMP) from intervention stocks at a minimum price of 163.1 € / 100 kg within the 33rd wave of intervention sales. The offered prices ranged between € 163.10 / 100kg and € 168.10 / 100kg, and the offers came from the ES and FI. Since 13/12/2016, the Commission has approved sales of 393,160 tonnes of SMP, finally sold at 378,209 tonnes of SMP. Intervention stocks should now be around 1,300 tonnes of SMP. The next tender will take place on 19/03/2019. More information is available here.

On 20/02/2019, Italian Agriculture Minister Gian Marco Centinaio met with Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Phil Hogan, to discuss the unfavourable development and fall in prices on the sheep meat market in Italy. Italy plans to introduce extraordinary financial measures to stabilize the market situation, the Commission did not raise objections to the draft measure. Financial aid in the form of public intervention of EUR 49 million should help to withdraw 15 to 20 thousand tonnes of Pecorino cheese from the market and thereby help stabilize prices. More information is available here.

On 19/02/2019, the Committee on International Trade (INTA) adopted a non-binding resolution approving the opening of trade negotiations with the US, unless further tariffs will not be set. The new resolution, now substantially amended compared with the original EC proposal, was adopted by 21 votes, 17 against, 1 abstention. The resolution will also be voted on in the plenary session of the EP, provisionally from 11/03/2019. French State Secretary for Trade, Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, however, said that the vote could be postponed until a meeting of EU leaders on 21/03 - 22/03/2019.

The Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) voted on 14/02/2019 on its own position towards the Strategic plans for the CAP after 2020.

In the ENVI Parties Committee, a compromise proposal of mandatory capping of direct payments at the level of EUR 80.000, without the possibility of deducting the costs of employees has been approved. The proposal was supported by representatives of the political parties EPP, S&D, ALDE and ECR. The only thing that should be possible to deduct from the amount to be capped are the regimes for climate and environment (so-called eco-schemes). The amount earned by the capping should be used primarily to finance eco-schemes and, subsequently, to interventions falling under the second pillar of the CAP - rural development programs, this is meant to be done by a transfer between pillars. Part of the funds gained by the capping may be used by the Member States to finance redistributive payments.

Besides support for mandatory capping of over EUR 80 000, the ENVI Committee also supported the introduction of new definitions, which should include the definition of "stocking density", i.e. the total livestock weight per holding per square meter of land; or the definition of "temporary grassland", which would apply to grasses and herbaceous crops grown on agricultural land for at least 5 consecutive years, eventually for more than five years, if plowing or re-sowing is required.

As for the ENVI Advisory Services for Agriculture, the Committee voted on the obligation for the European Commission to define minimum standards for advisory services with regard to their quality and independence. In the case of identification of interventions falling within direct payments (first pillar of the CAP), the Committee rejects to pay this support to policy-makers and civil servants at national or regional level and to their family members if these politicians or civil servants are directly or indirectly responsible for planning and managing the aid granted under the CAP, or for supervision of pay-outs.

Under the first pillar, Member States have to allocate at least 30% of the total envelope for direct payments to support climate and environmental regimes (so-called eco-schemes), according to the vote of the ENVI Committee. Furthermore, Member States also have to submit supplementary national lists of agricultural practices, which are beneficial to climate and the environment and which are based on the list provided by the European Commission. In high natural value areas, Member States may require farmers to use eco-schemes. For AEKO measures (agro-envi-climate), Member States should allocate at least 40% of the envelope for the second pillar.

The ENVI Committee proposes the payments to support areas with natural constraints (ANC) to be moved from the second to the first pillar of the CAP, with Member States setting maximum and minimum amounts for the ANC, which may not exceed 20% of the allocation under Article 31 of Regulation 1305/2013 (available here).

The rules for transferring funds between pillars should also be changed. Movements up to 15% from the first to the second pillar should still be allowed, however, the ENVI Committee have contrarily supported the abolition of movement of 15% of the second to the first pillar.

The rules of voluntary coupled support (VCS) should be tightened, according to the ENVI Committee. The Committee has endorsed proposals by the Dutch MEP Bas Eickhout (Green Party) stating that VCS payments should be included in the capping and that in line with Article 15 on the reduction of direct payments, they should be capped in order to ensure a fairer distribution of aid in the Member States. VCS payments for animal production may be paid only if the enterprises comply with the maximum stocking density limits (see above), which should not exceed 0.7 LU (livestock unit). VCS payments could only be granted to those farmers who meet animal welfare and environmental requirements beyond the scope of the obligations, and only if Member States demonstrate that this is the very last option to support the sector. According to the ENVI Committee, this support should never be provided for intensive animal production. The ENVI Committee supported a maximum allocation of 10 + 2% for VCS payments.

The ENVI Committee also advocated for tightening up rules for sectoral interventions. For instance, as for the wine sector, it authorizes only 20% of the eligible expenditure of the Union's financial support for information and promotion of funding, not current 50%. The total annual amount granted to a single beneficiary through interventions in the wine sector may not exceed EUR 200,000.

ENVI further supported achieving external convergence; enhancing support for agroforestry, the role of women in rural areas, sustainability of agricultural policy, prevention of overproduction in the agricultural sector, circulating economy, reduction of greenhouse emissions, air quality, water and soil, organic farming, reduction of pesticide and antibiotics use, principles of integrated pest management and generational change.

According to ENVI, the new CAP should enter into force two years later than originally planned, i.e. 2023.

The ENVI Committee shares competences with the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI) on environmental issues. If the AGRI Committee rejects the ENVI Committee's position within their own meeting, the ENVI Committee has the right to present its views directly during the EP plenary session. Shared competencies do not concern Article 15 on the reduction of direct payments (capping) or Article 90 on transfers of funds between pillars.

The vote on the AGRI Committee's position should take place by mid-March 2019; further information will be available after the meeting of the EP political coordinators of agriculture that will take place on 19/02/2019.

The resulting position of the ENVI Committee was approved by 42 MEPs, 14 MEPs were against, 3 abstained. More detailed voting results for individual amendments are not yet available.