Welcome for EU parliament's objection to single CAP fund
Three European farm organisations have welcomed the European Parliament's objection to the European Commission's proposal to amalgamate the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) into a single fund instrument.
Responding to the commission's floated idea of a single fund – an idea that has provoked concern across the agricultural sector – the parliament delivered its stance against the proposed CAP reform in a plenary session this week.
Copa and Cogeca, which represent the voice of farmers and agri-cooperatives in the EU, and Ceja, which lobbies for the political interests of around two million young farmers in Europe, have published statements in support of the parliament's stance.
During the plenary session, the parliament adopted its own report on the future Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), led by co-rapporteurs Carla Tavares (S&D, Portugal) and Siegfried Mureșan (EPP, Romania).
CAP proposal
The report included the adoption of two key amendments, which emphasise the preservation of the separate CAP budget in the next MFF, further calling for a strengthened agricultural budget.
According to Copa, this consists of indexing the agricultural budget to inflation and identifying additional dedicated funding sources to support the many transitions which the EU is demanding of the agricultural sector.
'That represents a common-sense approach that would bring consistency between the Commission's ambitions and its funds,' Copa and Cogeca said.
The statement indicated that while this report is non-binding for the European Commission and member states, it does however send a clear political signal regarding CAP, one that must be acknowledged and addressed.
'This vote strengthens and legitimises the concerns of Copa and Cogeca, which it intends to raise directly in a requested meeting with commission president Ursula von der Leyen. For now, a response is still being waited on,' the joint statement read.
CEJA's president, Peter Meedendorp, expressed relief at the recent plenary vote:
'In February, when the European Commission published its communication on the future of its budgetary ambitions, we had predicted that the road to the next MFF would be long and treacherous for our young farmers' community, but also for many other stakeholders.
'It is a relief to us to count the European Parliament among our allies in this long battle.'
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