Most EU countries are willing to accommodate the wishes of the European Parliament and the European Commission a bit more in the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
There is room for discussion with most Agriculture and Nature ministers about increasing agricultural subsidies for Green Deal measures, capping EU subsidies to the very large agribusinesses, inclusion of 'social (labor) laws', and more agricultural subsidies for animal welfare.
At an informal video meeting last Monday, most Agriculture and Nature ministers agreed to this rapprochement with the European Parliament and the European Commission in an attempt to make the trilogue meeting on Friday 30 April in Brussels a success. Earlier, rotating EU president Portugal said that April was the last chance for detailed work, because the super-trilogue on 25 and 26 May must finalize the deal. That agriculture summit coincides with the biannual Agriculture and Nature ministers meeting.
The share of agricultural funds for Environment and Climate measures (‘eco-schemes’) in agricultural operations is now being increased by the ministers from their initial 20% to 22% in 2023 and 2034, and to 25% in 2025. With this, the ministers follow a similar earlier concession in Germany. The argument was that farmers should not only be compensated for the (un)costs of eco-schemes, but also be able to profit from them.
The Agriculture and Nature ministers are also accommodating the request of the European Commission and European Parliament to finally address the long-drawn-out discussion on 'a social standard' across the EU for minimum wages, labor rights, and combating undeclared work in the agricultural sector.
Especially temporary (foreign) hired workers are still underpaid or exploited during harvest in some countries. A fine system is now under consideration. Portuguese minister Maria do Céu Antunes said on Monday that 'we will come to an agreement on this.'
Furthermore, it appears that agreement can be reached on Friday in the trilogue about how to end excessive European subsidy flows to large agribusinesses. Countries will be able to choose from three options: a maximum cap (which only affects the large ones), a percentage reduction (which affects everyone), or a redistribution (in favor of smaller farms, with the rest paying).
Countries that do not cooperate may face cuts in their payments (read: incur a penalty). This is already the case with the Czech Republic, where the largest agricultural company (Agrofert) is owned by the prime minister (Babis), and where just a few dozen entrepreneurs receive three-quarters of the agricultural EU subsidies.
At least five countries (Greece, Croatia, Cyprus, Hungary, and Romania) are currently still against the proposed redistribution of agricultural subsidies because, in their view, existing 'unequal distributions between EU countries' are not being corrected.
Despite the rapprochements, there are still enough obstacles and differences of opinion that could cause the trilogue negotiations to fail. In many areas, some countries may still hold their ground, or EU Commissioners or Members of the European Parliament may adhere to their own course and vision. The question then is whether they insist on being completely right, or are also willing to settle for half or less.
Such explosive, not yet crystallized points of discussion include further reduction of chemical pesticides (minus 50% by 2030), less artificial fertilizer (minus 20% by 2030), organic farming on 25% of the area (only arable land, or the entire agricultural area), keeping strips along watercourses free (how many meters?), and crop rotation (3, 4, or 5% of the arable land).
In the new CAP policy, part of the European implementation, control, and supervision is devolved back to the EU countries, which can also further decentralize their responsibilities to their states and regions. This makes European agricultural policy less uniform and less compulsory, and transitional measures and exceptions per country can arise.
The European Commission will negotiate with each country about their approach and implementation of the EU subsidy conditions.