Call for level playing field over CAP

The amount of money assigned to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and a number of policy concerns relating to the future CAP are among the issues that have been discussed and the National Farmers Union has been campaigning vociferously to ensure that English farmers are not given a deal which would place them at a competitive disadvantage with its EU rival nations.

Concerns have been raised repeatedly during the negotiations that subsidy payment levels could be cut, something that would push many hard-pressed farmers close to the wall.

Speaking from a special meeting organised by the European farmers’ organisation COPA-COGECA in Brussels, NFU director of policy Martin Haworth, said: “We have said all along that it would be unrealistic for us to expect the CAP to be exempt from the austerity measures that are being applied throughout the European Union. What is key to us is that whatever settlement is finally reached, the terms and conditions applied to our farmers must not put us at a disadvantage with our major competitors.

“Specifically, we expect our Government to treat English and Welsh farmers equitably and to ensure that they can operate on a level playing field with our main competitors in the rest of Europe.

“We are deeply concerned that the UK Government continues to negotiate to have the powers to move up to 20 per cent of the money at national level from the UK’s direct payments envelope into its rural development envelope.

“This would hit our farmers far harder than any cuts that are applied fairly and equally across all European farmers.

“The NFU remains vehemently opposed to granting powers to cut payments at national level. At the very least we believe that there must be an obligation to match fund any transferred monies from within national exchequers. This is the case for the other sources of money to finance the rural development measures and any funds transferred from Pillar 1 should be treated in the same way.”

EU leaders are also set to discuss some policy concerns relating to the future CAP. Previous versions of the ‘negotiating box’ outline plans to make capping voluntary for member states and to introduce flexibility around plans to ‘green’ the direct payments.

Mr Haworth said: “The NFU would prefer that capping was struck out entirely from the future CAP, but making it voluntary for member states would be an acceptable compromise.

“We interpret the negotiating text to mean that any suggestion of stepped reduction to larger payments, along with the overall ceiling at 300,000 euros as proposed, would become voluntary.

“We are absolutely opposed to payments being reduced in either of these ways and negotiators should ensure, at the very least, that both are left to the discretion of member states.

“Meanwhile, the centrepiece of this CAP reform remains the ‘greening’ of direct payments. If the budget is reduced, it’s only right the conditions and costs imposed on farmers should also be reduced.

“We believe if member states are given greater flexibility in implementing ‘greening’ that this flexibility should also be passed on to farmers.”