Delegated Acts on the implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Reform continues to be of concern to members in the European Parliament following a meeting of its agriculture committee yesterday.
There are 10 directions associated with Pillar 1 of the CAP Reform and three of these are causing concern for members of the European Parliament Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development. The key areas of concern are the rules associated with direct payments, horizontal regulations and fruit and vegetables regulations.
Speaking to AgriLand, Liam Aylward, MEP for Ireland East, explained: “In my view what has happened here is that the commission has undone in affect all the good work on the reform over the years. They have taken the fine print and imposed their will on it, introducing more bureaucracy and red-tape.”
“This is something which the new CAP was designed to remove. Simplification was to be a key element. I believe this will cause a lot of trouble down the road,” he said.
Also speaking to AgriLand on the issue was Mairead McGuinness, MEP for Ireland East. She said: “I would not like to see the reform being stalled. I would like to see some movement in terms of these concerns. From an Irish point of view, a lot has been solved. Among the concerns now are greening measures really affecting countries in Central Europe, particularly Germany. Clearly the committee has concerns and they are voicing their concerns.”
The committee will now vote on 7 April on whether or not to reject the delegated acts tabled by the commission last week.
First vice-chair, Czesław Adam Siekierski, who chaired the meeting yesterday, said: “The delegated acts tabled by the commission last week sparked a lot of concern among MEPs. During the agriculture committee meeting on Tuesday morning, the majority of MEPs who asked for the floor voiced their worries regarding applicability on the ground of some tabled acts, especially the one on direct payments and the amount of additional bureaucratic burden they would introduce.”
If the agriculture committee votes in favour of rejection of any particular delegated act, its recommendation will be forwarded to the full house for a vote.
In the full vote at April’s plenary sitting in Strasbourg, the parliament will be essentially deciding whether or not to support the position of the agriculture committee and reject the specific CAP Reform delegated acts. The rejection by the parliament will require an absolute majority of all 766 MEPs, ie at least 384 votes.
Related:
Delegated acts on the CAP Reform explained
More clarity on CAP as delegated acts adopted