Seamus Kirk
Question:133. Deputy Seamus Kirk asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the current position regarding the Common Agricultural Policy negotiations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14644/13]
View answerTuesday, 26 March 2013
Questions (133)
Written answers
The negotiations on the reform of the CAP have made considerable progress across a number of fronts in recent weeks. Following the agreement by the European Council on the Multiannual Financial Framework in early February, the European Parliament two weeks ago agreed its position on the CAP reform package. This was followed last week by the successful adoption by the Council of Agriculture Ministers - by a strong qualified majority - of its General Approach on CAP Reform. The latter, in particular, marked a considerable achievement, taking place as it did against a background of lengthy, intensive negotiations with my Member State colleagues across a range of complex and sensitive issues.
The achievement of the Council General Approach is a vitally important development. It means that all three institutions are now ready to move on to the final, so-called ‘trilogue’, stage of the negotiation process, where the Irish Presidency will represent the Council in discussions with the European Parliament and with the Commission. It also means that the overall target of an inter-institutional political agreement by the end of June remains very much on schedule. I am very hopeful that all participants across all three institutions will maintain their focus and redouble their efforts so that, together, we can bring the reform negotiations to a conclusion by the end of June.
Last week’s developments were not only a successful outcome for the Irish Presidency. They also represented a very good outcome for Irish farmers. All through the negotiating process, the key issue from an Irish perspective has been the distribution of direct payments within Member States, otherwise known as internal convergence. In order to avoid the very significant transfers of payments that would result from the Commission’s flat-rate proposals, I had proposed an alternative, partial, convergence model based on the principle that Member States should have the flexibility to move away from historically-based systems in a more measured way that respected their individual farming conditions. I am very pleased that the Council endorsed this principle and agreed to include the Irish model in the options available for the distribution of direct payments. This enhances the prospect of significantly lower transfers of payments between farmers than would be the case under the Commission’s flat-rate proposal. Of course, this issue still has to be negotiated further, and the reality is that the final outcome will be somewhere between the Commission proposal and the Irish proposal. However, the important point is that the Irish model is at the centre of the negotiations, and I will be working to ensure that the final outcome is as close as possible to this model.
I was also pleased with the Council’s agreement to my proposals on the greening of direct payments. These proposals bring the necessary flexibility to the Commission’s original proposals, so that farmers can practise sustainable agriculture without overly bureaucratic impediments. The agreement also addresses Ireland’s requirements for a greening payment to be applied as a percentage of each farmer’s single payment rather than as a flat rate.
Another good outcome is the agreement amongst my Council colleagues to end sugar quotas in 2017. This is a good compromise, as it pulls back substantially from the 2020 end date that had been demanded by many Member States. I might also mention that, in the case of voluntary coupled support, Ireland will have the option of using up to 7% of our national envelope for such payments. In addition, the Council agreed to the implementation of new Areas of Natural Constraint and to a change in the proposed reference year for the establishment of payment entitlements.