Fourteen EU countries, including the Netherlands, have come up with a new compromise regarding future environmental subsidies in European agriculture. They are withdrawing their previously criticized proposal for a two-year trial period for eco-schemes. Additionally, the 25 percent of CAP subsidies earmarked for Green Deal objectives will remain allocated as such.
The ministers hope to achieve a breakthrough in the stalled negotiations with the European Parliament and the European Commission. The talks earlier this month broke down when the German minister Julia Klöckner – following an earlier imposed two-year delay – also wanted to introduce a two-year trial starting from 2023.
At an informal ministerial meeting last Tuesday, the ministers of Germany and Austria presented a new 'distribution key'. For the first time, this includes concrete amounts (€72 billion to the eco-schemes), applies the 25% 'from the first year', and ensures that released environmental subsidies are not redirected back to general agricultural subsidies.
This proposal received support from Romania, Latvia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Greece, Bulgaria, Luxembourg, Sweden, Belgium, Poland, and Ireland. "This means that 14 EU countries explicitly support our demand," said the Austrian minister Köstinger, satisfied.
At the informal ministerial meeting, a COPA-COGECA delegation and the chairman of the European Parliament's agriculture committee, the German Christian Democrat Norbert Lins, were also present. He noted that the ministers have shown more willingness to compromise.
However, not all controversial issues have been resolved. The European Parliament wants to reserve 7% of arable land for nature conservation. The EU member states consider this too much. They want to reserve only 4% of arable land for species protection. Furthermore, the Parliament wants to preemptively set reductions of agricultural chemicals. The ministers, however, want an impact assessment first.