Trialogue discussions on CAP reform begin today

On April 11th, the trialogue discussions on the the CAP reform will begin. Over the coming weeks, the Council, Parliament and Commission will hold around 40 meetings in which they will attempt to agree on the final shape of the CAP 2014 – 2020. It is currently anticipated that a final political agreement will be reached ahead of the Council of Ministers meeting on June 24th in Luxembourg.

In this latest Brussels Briefing on Agriculture, agriculture journalists Rose O’Donovan and Ed Bray outline some of the main sticking points that are expected to arise over the coming weeks during the negotiations, in other words the issues on which the three EU insitutions currently have no common standpoint.

Topics include capping of direct payments, young farmers, rural development, resdistribution of payments within and between Member States, and coupled support. The controversial issue of double payments is also addressed.

Monitoring the progress of the discussions may not be all that easy. A recent article on EurActiv questioned the transparency of these meetings, stating that “Everything is done behind closed doors.” The article also points out that there are ”no official rules about the proceedings of these informal trilateral meetings.”

The video also outlines the current status of the Commission’s proposal on partial ban on pesticides that are harmful to bees. During the first vote on Member States on March 15, no majority was reached. Portugal, Ireland, Romania and Hungary rejected the proposal saying it was unjustified and disproportionate, Germany and the UK abstained. Meanwhile, France and the Netherlands supported it. There will now be a second vote, scheduled for the end of the month. Find out more in the video below:

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