CAP: meat production subsidies under negotiation
The negotiations between the European Commission, the European Parliament and the EU Council of Ministers are part of a complex reform on the EU’s common agriculture policy (CAP) that has been debated for two years. These talks are scheduled to culminate on Wednesday, 26 June, when an agreement on the EU’s largest policy programme is expected to be struck.
A key issue has been whether “member states can still link part of the payment, a limited amount, to [the level of food] production”, Roger Waite, the EU agriculture spokesperson, explained during a briefing in Brussels on Friday.
Since the EU’s last CAP reform, in 2003, governments have been under pressure to decouple subsidies from production, paying a flat rate fee, so producers tailor their output to market demand rather than the anticipation of subsidies.
However, said Mr Waite: “In some mountain regions where production is more difficult, there is a risk that whole sectors can die, so there is an additional amount given to the farmer if he or she maintains that type of production.”
Waite told Globalmeatnews.com that the final deal would probably allow EU governments to decide if they want to give more money for meat production to some of their farmers. “By having a coupled payment [between subsidies and production], it will keep that production in that region,” he added.
But how much and under what conditions farmers in mountain regions would get to keep producing beef, lamb or other meat is still the subject of tough negotiations that have been ongoing so far in Brussels.
Waite underlined, however, that in future, most meat production will not be driven by EU subsidies, but by market demand, and the post-2013 rules would make it harder to tie handouts to production than those following the 2003 reforms.
The current reform of the CAP may also allow subsidies to encourage EU farmers to diversify the feed they grow for livestock producers. “One idea is to have some additional elements for protein crops, because we are mostly reliant on soya,” Waite told Globalmeatnews.com. The final details on what kind of crops this would be and what subsidies farmers would get for them are still to be ironed out.
EU agriculture ministers are meeting on Monday and Tuesday in Luxembourg to try and strike a deal with the negotiators of the European Parliament and the representatives of the European Commission on the new CAP, which would control EU agriculture spending until 2020.
