Detail

European Union

Oilseeds, oils and meals

All

01/07/2013

Production

Agricultural poicy

Reached agreement on set of reforms to be applied on the bloc\'s common agricultural policy during 2014-2020.

EUROPEAN UNION – common agricultural policy: The Council, Commission and Parliament of the EU have reached agreement on a set of reforms to be applied to the bloc’s common agricultural policy during 2014–2020. Direct payments to EU farmers are going to be maintained, although member countries may also continue to provide support coupled to the production of specific products (within certain limits). The most important change will be that payments are going to increasingly depend on compliance with specific environmental requirements: in particular, producers will be required to diversify their crops, maintain permanent grassland, and protect ‘ecological focus areas’. The new rules also envisage a negative list of entities that would not be eligible for subsidies. However, no agreement has been reached on degressivity and capping of payments to individual farmers, on the transfer of funds between pillars and on the rates of co-financing. Also, the budgetary framework for the next seven years still needs to be discussed. The EU Commission still has to translate the agreed-upon reforms into legislative text for final adoption by the Parliament and Council.