Est. 1min 21-06-2002 (updated: 07-11-2012 ) Euractiv is part of the Trust Project >>> Languages: Français | DeutschPrint Email Facebook X LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram The mid-term review of the EU’s agricultural policy, to be discussed by the Commission on 10 July, is expected to cut farm subsidies and link them to environmental and food quality criteria rather than production. The mid-term review is expected to reform the beef and grains markets, but the Commission is under pressure to propose more radical changes, such as redirecting some of the direct subsidies to a rural development fund. The Farm Commissioner, Franz Fischler, is also expected to propose more binding environmental, food quality and animal welfare standards. According to a draft proposal, circulated in the Commission this week, farm subsidies should be linked to environmental, animal welfare and food quality criteria in the future, rather than to production. Direct payments to farmers might be cut by up to 20 per cent over the next six to seven years. Subsidies to farmers would be redirected towards rural development. A maximum ceiling of 300,000 euro per year would be set for direct payments per farm. Read more with Euractiv Informal minister meeting supports EU soil policyOn 24-26 May, the EU environment ministers met for an informal discussion on European soil policy. Subscribe now to our newsletter EU Elections Decoded Email Address * Politics Newsletters PositionsThe Commission has postponed its proposals for the mid-term review of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to the beginning of July. The review is expected to shift the CAP from income support for farmers towards more rural development. EU Agriculture Commissioner, Franz Fischler, will not be able to propose a full agricultural reform before 2006 because the CAP budget is set until then. Only a mid-term review has been foreseen by the current budgetary framework, Agenda 2000 (2000-2006). Most Member States agree that CAP reform should not be connected to enlargement. However, Britain, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden - the biggest net payers to the EU budget - insist that the Union should cut CAP expenditures rather than agreeing to offer the candidate countries farm subsidies. This could lead to a renegotiation of the CAP before the EU takes decisions on the financing of enlargement. The German Chancellor, Gerhard Schröder, underlined that the current Member States cannot keep their privileges while providing more funds for the future members. He rejected the Commission's proposal that farmers in the candidate countries should receive subsidies as soon as they join the EU. However, he agreed with the candidate countries that they should not be discriminated against in the area of agriculture. He has therefore proposed that the current EU members - especially the main beneficiaries of the Common Agricultural Policy, notably France - should share the burden without a major increase in costs. Mr Schröder underlined that the EU must reach a compromise that implies that the principal beneficiaries give up part of the aid for new members. The Foreign Ministers of the 15 Member States agreed to postpone the discussion of farm subsidies to the future members until after the German general elections in the autumn. For details on the compromise see EURACTIV of 18 June. COPA-COGECA, the leading EU farmers' organisation, has rejected "any idea of a new CAP reform at the time of the mid-term review of Agenda 2000". It calls on the EU to provide "sufficient financial resources to organise the accessio n of the candidate countries in such a way as to ensure their full integration into a strong CAP". COPA-COGECA warns that enlargement must not take place at the expense of farmers in either the EU or the candidate countries. BackgroundA mid-term review of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is planned for 2002, but a more radical reform is necessitated by the EU's planned eastward expansion, WTO negotiations and food safety concerns. There has been a consensus up to now between the 15 Member States that the CAP reform should be negotiated after enlargement, which is expected to take place in 2004. However, the EU's net payers fear that a radical reform of the CAP will be impossible after this date, with big beneficiaries, such as France and Poland, expected to block it. TimelineThe Commission is expected to reveal its proposals for the CAP mid-term review on 10 July. A thorough reform of the CAP is not expected before 2006 when the EU should adopt its next multi-annual budgetary plan (2007-2013). The next reform will thus also involve the new Member States from Central and Eastern Europe.
