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The first round of compromise talks between the three main European institutions kicked off on Tuesday 10 November as marathon CAP negotiations enter the home stretch.
A team of MEPs from the European Parliament, representatives from the council of agricultural ministers and the European Commission will have the opportunity to put forward their positions on the key elements of the reform.
There are three proposals on the table: the strategic plan regulation (which sets the shape of the next CAP), the horizontal regulation (covering inspections and checks) and the common market organisation amending regulation.
The Commission has chosen to send its executive vice-president Frans Timmermans, along with Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski to the first trilogue meeting.
Today, Commissioner @jwojc and I started negotiations with @Europarl_EN on the Common Agricultural Policy. The Commission will be an honest broker and a driving force for greater sustainability in the #CAP to deliver on the #EUGreenDeal objectives. pic.twitter.com/RyasLfmnBz
— Frans Timmermans (@TimmermansEU) November 10, 2020
Green deal
Timmermans has responsibility for overseeing the European green deal, which sets out a road map for the EU to become the first climate-neutral continent by 2050.
The Commission said it considers CAP “to be one of the central policies” in achieving this goal.
The Commission acts as a broker in the talks between ministers and MEPs, but the presence of Timmermans underlines its desire for sustainability to be central to the next CAP.
“The aim is to agree on a Common Agricultural Policy that is fit for purpose and effectively responds to the higher societal expectations in terms of climate action, protection of biodiversity, environmental sustainability and a fair income for farmers,” the Commission said ahead of the talks.
Green schemes
It believes the proposals put forward by then-Commissioner for Agriculture Phil Hogan in 2018 reflects higher environmental and climate ambitions through the inclusion of a new green architecture.
This structure includes higher cross compliance requirements and eco schemes funded from farmers direct payments, on top of agri-environmental schemes in countries’ rural development programmes.
With the European Parliament and council of ministers agreeing on their negotiating position respectively on 23 and 21 October 2020, it is hoped a final compromise can be reached before the end of the year.
SHARING OPTIONS: