Copa Cogeca has welcomed EU farm ministers talks to simplify Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) rules, warning urgent action is vital to cut red tape and ease draconian agricultural penalties.
Following farm ministers' adoption of CAP simplification proposals on Monday, Albert Jan Maat, Copa President, said, “We are very anxious to see concrete initiatives introduced to simplify farmers work as soon as possible. Without this, innovation and competitiveness is jeopardised."
"It is unacceptable to take up to 30% of farmers greening payments in 2017," he continued, "when the rules are still unclear and the errors relate to delays in advice made by the local authorities. Going beyond the 30% payment cut is also unacceptable in 2018.”
Greening was one of the measures highlighted by the talks on Monday, with member states representatives agreeing that there was scope for simplification in this area by giving Member States more flexibility regarding the measures’ implementation. The Council said this could be achieved by taking better into account the natural conditions and allowing more targeted controls.
ADVERTISEMENT
Albert Jan Maat also stressed that simplification must not result in fundamental changes to the basic act and rules under the new CAP which the EU agreed until 2020, to give farmers some stability and enable them to plan ahead.
He went on to call for a level playing field across the EU, warning that he has serious concerns about the way in which the new rules are being implemented in some countries. With only 27 out of 118 EU rural development programmes approved, he urged the EU to accelerate approval of the remaining national rural development programmes.
Register for free to read this story and our free stories.
This content is available to digital subscribers and loyalty code users only. Sign in to your account, use the code or subscribe to get unlimited access.
However, if you would like to share the information in this article, you may use the headline, summary and link below:
Title: Copa Cogeca welcomes CAP simplification talks
Copa Cogeca has welcomed EU farm ministers talks to simplify Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) rules, warning urgent action is vital to cut red tape and ease draconian agricultural penalties.
The reader loyalty code gives you full access to the site from when you enter it until the following Wednesday at 9pm. Find your unique code on the back page of Irish Country Living every week.
CODE ACCEPTED
You have full access to the site until next Wednesday at 9pm.
CODE NOT VALID
Please try again or contact support.
Following farm ministers' adoption of CAP simplification proposals on Monday, Albert Jan Maat, Copa President, said, “We are very anxious to see concrete initiatives introduced to simplify farmers work as soon as possible. Without this, innovation and competitiveness is jeopardised."
"It is unacceptable to take up to 30% of farmers greening payments in 2017," he continued, "when the rules are still unclear and the errors relate to delays in advice made by the local authorities. Going beyond the 30% payment cut is also unacceptable in 2018.”
Greening was one of the measures highlighted by the talks on Monday, with member states representatives agreeing that there was scope for simplification in this area by giving Member States more flexibility regarding the measures’ implementation. The Council said this could be achieved by taking better into account the natural conditions and allowing more targeted controls.
Albert Jan Maat also stressed that simplification must not result in fundamental changes to the basic act and rules under the new CAP which the EU agreed until 2020, to give farmers some stability and enable them to plan ahead.
He went on to call for a level playing field across the EU, warning that he has serious concerns about the way in which the new rules are being implemented in some countries. With only 27 out of 118 EU rural development programmes approved, he urged the EU to accelerate approval of the remaining national rural development programmes.
If you would like to speak to a member of our team, please call us on 01-4199525.
Link sent to your email address
We have sent an email to your address. Please click on the link in this email to reset your password. If you can't find it in your inbox, please check your spam folder. If you can't find the email, please call us on 01-4199525.
ENTER YOUR LOYALTY CODE:
The reader loyalty code gives you full access to the site from when you enter it until the following Wednesday at 9pm. Find your unique code on the back page of Irish Country Living every week.
SHARING OPTIONS