Today (Tuesday) in the European Parliament, the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is being discussed for the first time in light of the new EU financial situation.
Recovery of the agri-food sector is also on the agenda, and MEPs will once again call for corona support funds for the poultry industry. The debate follows the recent presentation of the EU recovery package and the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2021 â 2027.
Members of the European Parliament will also ask Budget Commissioner Hahn how the Commission plans to finance the recovery of the hardest-hit agri-food sectors after the pandemic. Parliamentarians have repeatedly insisted that only a sufficiently funded EU agricultural policy can ensure food security and make agriculture in the EU more sustainable.
Due to the new multiannual budget 2021-2027 and the corona megafund, as well as new Climate and Green Deal policies, virtually all previous EU budget agreements are being questioned. The negotiating positions of the Agriculture Committee are tied to current revenues and expenditures. However, these have been outdated since last Wednesday, and furthermore, the agricultural sector will soon also be able to draw on money from the (new) corona recovery fund.
Although it has been agreed in Brussels that the current CAP policy can technically continue for one or two more years to allow time for negotiations on a new CAP, many agricultural organizations and MEPs still do not know exactly what to expect.
The AGRI Committee has taken the position that they want to draft the new CAP policy together with the Environment and Climate group of the ENVI Committee. But it is by no means certain that the environment committee, or Vice-President Frans Timmermans or the relevant ministers, share this viewâŠ
The European umbrella of farmersâ organizations, COPA-COGECA, requested that agriculture be included as a priority sector in the corona recovery plan. This has now happened: tens of billions of euros have been made available. Theoretically, part of the current agricultural subsidies could also be replaced by money from the corona recovery fund or the (future) budget for Timmermansâ Green Deal.
Budget Commissioner Hahn might welcome that idea, but most MEPs do not want to abandon the âold systemâ before knowing what will replace it. Most members of the Agriculture Committee reject cuts to agricultural budgets and view new tasks from the Green Deal, food safety, biodiversity, and Climate Policy primarily as burdensome demands on the work of crop and livestock farming.
Due to the corona crisis and the weeks-long closure of restaurants, hotels, and catering services across the EU, the crisis is particularly severe in the poultry and meat industries. Closure measures have halted all meat and dairy consumption outside the home, representing 20 to 40% of production, varying per EU country. For some poultry types, this is nearly 100%, especially among âsmall speciesâ such as duck, pigeon, and quail.
This has led to a desperate oversupply situation in several EU countries. COPA-COGECA has calculated that since the beginning of the crisis, one billion chickens have been lost, including ducks and quails. In the short term, and to prevent a total collapse of the sector and to guarantee food security, European poultry farmers are asking the EU for support to preserve their farms, investments, and jobs.
âWe cannot afford to wait years for this aid to reach us through complex and confusing bureaucratic channels; we need it now. The situation on the ground requires urgent action. At the same time, in the specific case of poultry, aid for private storage would be very useful as long as the hospitality sector remains closed,â COPA-COGECA assured.