Charlie McConalogue
Question:360. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of CAP transitional measures post-2020. [53855/19]
View answerWednesday, 18 December 2019
Questions (360)
Written answers
As the Deputy is aware, there is a delay in the adoption of the new CAP proposals and EU Budget post-2020, with a resultant delay in the approval of the CAP Strategic Plan for the period 2021-2027. This has left a gap in the legal and financial framework for the existing CAP measures, including direct payments, rural development, sectoral interventions and the LEADER programme. A Commission proposal seeks to address this gap through transitional arrangements for the year 2021.
This proposal is quite technical and legally complex, as it amends seven existing EU Regulations to provide for a one-year transitional period in 2021, with financing for 2021 at the amount set out in the Commission Proposals for the MFF 2021-2027.
Specifically, it provides an option for Member States to extend their Rural Development Programmes 2014-2020 for a period of one year to 2021, subject to certain conditions and restrictions. In addition, it provides an option of a one-year extension to 31/12/2021 for existing multi-annual commitments in the RDP (agri-environment/climate, organic farming and animal welfare). It also allows for the introduction of new agri-environment/climate, organic farming and animal welfare commitments in 2021 for a period of one to three years. The proposal also makes amendments to the Direct Payments regulation to provide legal certainty in the transitional period.
Discussions on the proposal will continue under the Croatian Presidency, and it is expected to be adopted in Summer 2020.
Ireland has welcomed the transitional regulation proposals, which will allow continuity between the programming periods. The proposals are at an early stage of discussion and we welcome the clarifications provided by the Commission and the Presidency to date. We will continue to communicate closely with both as the text of the regulations develops over the coming months. In due course, this will allow us to consider, in more detail, the options available to Ireland during the transition period.