At their monthly EU meeting, the 27 agriculture ministers will on Monday consider whether the EU should take additional measures against rising fertilizer prices. They will also again push for a postponement of the national strategic plans (NSPs) for agricultural policy.
Now that the Russians are imposing additional tariffs on exports (read: wanting to reserve more for their own farmers), Brussels could lift previously imposed EU tariffs to stimulate imports from elsewhere.
A major stumbling block at the ministers' meeting threatens to be the timely implementation of the National Strategic Plans (NSPs) of the new agricultural policy. EU countries must submit these by the end of this year at the latest in order to be eligible for CAP payments next year. This requirement has been known since the beginning of this year.
The intention is for the full European Parliament to definitively adopt the modernized CAP later this month, so that it can officially take effect as of January 1, 2023. With the new CAP, Brussels gives the EU countries greater freedom in their criteria for agricultural subsidies, but it is still uncertain whether all EU countries will submit their national strategic plans on time.
Several countries have requested a postponement, but the European Commission does not want to hear of it. Agriculture Commissioner Wojciechowski has said, however, that he will "handle the submission date flexibly."
The Netherlands has already started the NSP process with some tests and trials, but some countries are only beginning now. For example, in Germany, the new “traffic light coalition” could still throw a spanner in the works with stricter requirements, and France says that not all “regional authorities” have yet agreed. The latter would partly be a result of abandoning uniform agricultural rules throughout the EU.
On Monday in Brussels, Spain will request extra EU support for farmers on the Canary Islands. Agriculture on La Palma and the nearby islands is affected by the fallout from the volcanic eruption. Tons of ash have fallen, destroying almost the entire harvest on the islands.
Spain is asking not only for additional subsidies from the EU program for remote islands, but also from the CAP rural fund. During a recent visit to the island, Minister Planas said he had written a letter to EU Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski invoking "force majeure."