EU talks on new eco-subsidy in agricultural policy get underway

This year will likely be the year in which the long-awaited reform of the EU’s main agricultural subsidy program, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), will finally be realized. Discussions have been ongoing since 2018, and there is now a transition phase until the end of next year.

The rotating Portuguese presidency of the European Union aims to reach an agreement in the coming six months with the European Parliament, European Commission, and the 27 agriculture ministers. “We will strive to complete the CAP negotiations,” said Portuguese Agriculture Minister Maria do Céu Antunes in an interview with Euractiv.

Last month, the three European governing bodies each established their positions on the desired new agricultural policy. They will now attempt to align fully through trilogue negotiations. The first round of negotiations is scheduled for January 22, 27, and 29.

Even if the three co-legislators fail to reach an agreement under the Portuguese presidency, a new attempt is expected to be almost certainly successful under Slovenia’s leadership in the second half of 2021.

On the eve of the trilogue negotiations, the European Commission published a list of agricultural practices that fit the European eco-schemes in the future Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

The European Commission explicitly states that these must be new activities; they will not serve as a subsidy source for existing policies. The ambition level must go beyond current requirements and obligations, Land Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski said as a prelude to the new trilogue round.

These eco-schemes are a new tool to subsidize farmers who choose to focus their business more on environmental care and climate action. These measures may vary by country. The European Commission has already made country-specific ‘recommendations’ in this regard.

Agricultural practices supported by eco-schemes must relate to climate, environment, animal welfare, and antimicrobial resistance, and their priorities must be established at the national/regional level.