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New EU farm policy breaks link between subsidy and production
Brussels, Oct 01: European Union agriculture ministers approved on Monday the final legal version of the sweeping farm policy reform thrashed out in June.
Brussels, Oct 01: European Union agriculture ministers approved on Monday the final legal version of the sweeping farm policy reform thrashed out in June.
The reform, to be introduced from 2004 and 2005, allows EU member states a degree of scope to decide how to apply a new policy that breaks the link between how much farmers receive in subsidy and their output.
“There have been some minor technical changes. But on the big principles of reform, it is as it was agreed in June,” said a Commission official.
After three weeks of on-off talks in Luxembourg, ministers eventually agreed on overhauling the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in the early hours of June 26, diluting some of the proposals tabled by European Farm Commissioner Franz Fischler.
Since then, a high-level technical working group composed of EU member state representatives has been converting broad policy statements into seven legal texts. “It’s just a procedural step but a pretty important one,” said an EU diplomat. EU farm policy has been widely attacked for its lavish financial support to farmers. CAP spending, which benefits France more than any other country, swallows up nearly half the EU’s total annual budget of close to 100 billion euros.
Under the reform, EU farmers will receive a single payment, and the link to production will be mostly removed. But some output-linked payments will remain for the time being where member states consider this is needed to avoid land abandonment.
To qualify for the single payment, farmers will have to meet strict environmental, food safety, animal and plant health standards and also keep their land in good condition. Bureau Report
“There have been some minor technical changes. But on the big principles of reform, it is as it was agreed in June,” said a Commission official.
After three weeks of on-off talks in Luxembourg, ministers eventually agreed on overhauling the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in the early hours of June 26, diluting some of the proposals tabled by European Farm Commissioner Franz Fischler.
Since then, a high-level technical working group composed of EU member state representatives has been converting broad policy statements into seven legal texts. “It’s just a procedural step but a pretty important one,” said an EU diplomat. EU farm policy has been widely attacked for its lavish financial support to farmers. CAP spending, which benefits France more than any other country, swallows up nearly half the EU’s total annual budget of close to 100 billion euros.
Under the reform, EU farmers will receive a single payment, and the link to production will be mostly removed. But some output-linked payments will remain for the time being where member states consider this is needed to avoid land abandonment.
To qualify for the single payment, farmers will have to meet strict environmental, food safety, animal and plant health standards and also keep their land in good condition. Bureau Report