CAP Council Report May 2020

EU MFF Discussions

• Since the COVID-19 crisis the EU Heads of States have not had any further discussions on the MFF.
• The Commission is now likely to come forward with a new MFF proposal on 27^th May in line with the new €500bn EU recovery package. As part of this package a new CAP proposal is likely to be made.
• IFA has strongly made the case to Government and the EU Commission that there must be no cut in CAP funding and funding must be increased to take account of the additional asks on farmers and inflation.
• The proposals on the table following the meetings in Feb are as follows. These are the starting points from proposals made in May 2018, Finish proposals in Feb this year and those of EU Council President Charles Michel.

European Council MFF Proposals

• For Ireland the proposed cut is of the order of about €50m per annum based on the EU allocations but taking account of inflation it is of the order of €90m to €100m.
• IFA will be keeping the pressure on, at both National and European level over the coming period.

CAP Transition Rules

• The EU Commission proposals on transitional arrangements for the CAP for 2021 have been passed by the European Parliament. They now go to trialogue between the Commission, the Council, and the EP.
• IFA had expressed concerns that the EU formula of “old rules, new money” could lead to a situation where payments would be cut in 2020.
• Following consultation with the Dept. of Agriculture, who have been liaising with the European Commission, payments are protected for 2020. However, a problem will emerge in 2021 if there is not an agreement on the CAP budget before the end of 2020 as the Commission proposals currently on the table will apply.
• The transitional rules allow for the continuation of other farm schemes into 2021 such as: Young Farmer Scheme, National Reserve, GLAS, ANCs, Sheep Welfare, BDGP and other smaller schemes.
• Indications suggest that the transition will be for an initial period of 1 year but can be extended as the detail on the next CAP are unlikely to be agreed on time.
• In relation to convergence, it is up to member states to decide whether they want to continue convergence in 2021. The Minister has stated that there will be no change until the next CAP is agreed.

Details on CAP

• In the meantime, there has little discussions ongoing at working party level between member states and Commission officials on details on the new CAP.
• While the last EP ComAgri committee had made amendments to the CAP regulations, they had not been agreed at an EP plenary session and will be discussed again in the Autumn.
• The new Farm to Fork and Biodiversity Strategy laid down by the EU Commission on May 20^th will have an impact on measures in the course of the next CAP.

DAFM Consultation

• DAFM CAP Consultative Committees have been continuing with 2 meetings (28th April & May 18^th) held in the last month.
• A revised DAFM SWOT analysis will be circulated shortly. This will reflect the submissions made by a wide range of organisations.
• This will lead to a needs analysis which will be followed by the interventions that are necessary in strategic plans (both P1 + P2) to be achieved over the 7-year period up to 2027.

Upcoming Events

EU Heads of State – MFF – May 27th

IFA CAP Project Team –shortly – date not finalised.

DAFM Consultation meeting on Needs assessment – June 10th.

General CAP consultation – 25^th or 26^th June.

Gerry Gunning