Changes from plenary report to adopted text

RemovedEXPLANATORY STATEMENT

RemovedThe legislative procedure of Common Agriculture Policy reform has not been concluded in time to allow Member States and the Commission to prepare all the elements necessary to apply the new legal framework and the CAP Strategic Plans as of 1 January 2021. For this reason, the European Commission proposed a regulation on CAP transition on 31 October 2019 for the year 2021.

RemovedThe delay in completing the CAP reform and the Multiannual Financial Framework for the years 2021-2027 creates uncertainty for farmers and the agriculture sector. In order to alleviate the uncertainty, this report builds on the Commission’s proposal to ensure the continued application of the current rules and uninterrupted payments to the farmers and other beneficiaries.

RemovedThe objective of the Rapporteur is to build stability and security for farmers and the agriculture sector as a whole and to ensure a clear path towards the new CAP programming period. This is to be achieved with a balanced and streamlined Transitional Regulation based on the current CAP rules. The Rapporteur considers this as essential, as farmers and the food sector will only know the final content of the new Transitional Regulation and its implications a few months before the legislation will enter into force. Given the fact that many farm level investments and orders for the next year are done in the summer months, the Rapporteur stresses the need for a seamless continuation of existing rules and structures and she considers it prudent that there is rapid and clear decision-making from European institutions on this regulation.

RemovedThe Rapporteur agrees with the main principle of European Commission´s proposal of continuing with old rules and new money but states categorically that the transition period should in no way represent farmers working under old rules with less money. This draft report is strongly against any reductions in agriculture funding, as the income of the European farmers is already lower than average compared to other sectors. This regulation should respect the provision to ensure a fair standard of living for farmers as enshrined in the Treaty on the Functioning of European Union. Therefore, the report builds on the budgetary line adopted by European Parliament on the Multiannual Financial Framework, which calls for EU-funding for agriculture sector to remain at the current level.

RemovedThe Rapporteur views this regulation as an important bridge between the CAP programming periods and considers that the Transitional Regulation should offer the Member States sufficient time to prepare their respective national strategic plans as well as the administrative and IT structures necessary for successful implementation of the new legal framework. Therefore, a sufficient transition period respecting these time frames would provide much needed stability and certainty for the farming sector in the transition towards the new CAP programming period.

RemovedThe report underscores the need for Member States and European Commission to extensively consult with farmers and all relevant stakeholders during the preparation of their CAP Strategic Plans. It is stated that the work on the development of Member States’ Strategic Plans should be undertaken without delay to ensure a smooth transition for farmers into a new programming period.

RemovedDuration

RemovedIn its proposal, the Commission proposed a transitional period of one year. While the Rapporteur supports this duration in principle, it is apparent that due to the complexities and the state of play in the procedure of deciding on the next Multiannual Financial Framework and CAP reform there is a possibility that a one-year transition period may not be sufficient. According to the CAP post 2020 proposal, it is foreseen by the European Commission that the Member States and national administrations would need at least one year in advance to prepare their Strategic Plans and the European Commission would then have several months for the approval process. For these reasons and while agreeing with the principle of a one year transitional period, the Rapporteur has proposed the introduction of a safeguard which would allow for an extension of the transitional period for an additional year if needed.

RemovedThe Official Journal publication deadline of 30 September 2020 being set for the triggering of the safeguard was calculated taking into account the complexities of the legislative procedure and the necessary time required before new CAP rules can be successfully applied. In determining a deadline compatible with the above-mentioned timeframe, the Rapporteur is of the view that, the point when the agreement between the co-legislators is reached presents sufficient guarantee for the Member States to start the preparation process. In the Rapporteur’s view, this agreement would need to be reached by 30 June 2020 at the latest.

RemovedThe Rapporteur takes a pragmatic approach to the Transitional Regulation and underlines that it should be kept separated from CAP reform. A guiding principle of the Rapporteur in drafting this report is that new initiatives should not be introduced in the transitional rules. The basis for this approach is that this legislation will be in force in 11 months from the tabling of this report and it is neither fair nor realistic to ask European farmers to implement new measures, which have not been discussed fully and approved by the co-legislators in advance of the legislation coming into force.

RemovedIn the CAP reform, new measures and rules will be introduced and the Commission have indicated that further consideration of these measures and rules is needed in light of their Communication on the European Green Deal, published 11 December 2019. The Rapporteur considers the European Green Deal as an important and overarching proposal shaping the long-term future of European agriculture and food production. However, the Rapporteur believes that these considerations must be dealt with in the CAP reform proposals and not in this regulation, as it would risk having two parallel reform processes which would pose a significant and costly uncertainty to farmers and the agriculture sector overall.

RemovedBuilding continuity and opportunity into the transition

RemovedThe Rapporteur underlines that all the measures taken during the transitional period must be based on current rules and tools. In respect of the continuation of the current CAP rules, the Rapporteur has proposed that Member States should be able to increase their co-financing in the second pillar. It is important to allow the continuation of the current rural development programmes without any cuts for the farmers and beneficiaries.

RemovedFurthermore, this possibility would support the Member States’ commitment to keeping the environmental measures at least at the current level as proposed by the Commission. In the report, it is proposed that the Member States will have the opportunity to extend the scope of their agri-environment and climate measures as part of their rural development program during the transition period.

RemovedThe report adjusts the approval process of the European Commission on extension of Rural Development programs. According to the Rapporteur, the Commission should sufficiently justify its decision to reject the extension of programmes, which would help ensure the legal security and continuity of payments to farmers in a timely manner. It is stated, that timely and detailed guidance for Member States is essential in order to avoid any risk to the stability of the agricultural sector.

RemovedThe report proposes to streamline the duration of already adopted operational programmes. In order to safeguard legal certainty and to allow equal treatment the operational programmes in the fruit and vegetable sector should be allowed to run unchanged until their respective end dates.

RemovedA limitation of a maximum of 3 years on new commitments made in 2021 can be considered appropriate for the majority of the rural development measures. On the other hand agri-environment-climate measures under Article 28 (5) of 1305/2013 contributing to the implementation of the Water Framework Directive, the Natura 2000 Directives or the fulfillment of the Effort Sharing Regulation (EU) 2018/842 depend on the possibility to provide long-term commitments to compensate beneficiaries for the maintenance of the land in accordance with the above mentioned legal acts. Therefore, the 3 years limit should not apply to these measures on the condition that those measures are integrated into the new CAP strategic plan framework.

RemovedThe Rapporteur proposes following the logic of continuing with current rules also on transitional national aid and other similar systems, which were not prolonged in the Commission proposal. This approach would follow the general objective to ensure uninterrupted continuation of support to farmers and other beneficiaries during the transitional period and would allow the respective sectors to adapt. Through the continuation of these payments, stability, predictability and the ability to plan can be ensured for farmers. Eliminating these payments from one day to another would have a significant negative impact on several sensitive agriculture sectors in Europe.

RemovedThe report prepares the ground for a smoother transition to the new CAP by increasing technical assistance and encouraging Member States to start preparing the Strategic Plans as early as possible. Transition to a new programming period presents further administrative requirements for national administrations, with a potential risk of impact on the final beneficiaries. The substantial nature of the proposed changes in this CAP reform will also require significant planning and commitments from the agricultural sector in implementation and in meeting the objectives and ambition. The Rapporteur believes that it is necessary to allow the Member States to use a larger percentage of the funds allocated to technical assistance during the transitional period, in order to properly develop the necessary tools and measures to achieve the set targets. A higher amount of technical assistance should to be compensated for after the transitional period and the financial burden not imposed on farmers.