CAP Budget Agreed for Next Seven Years

July 22, 2020 Oliver Moore Latest from Brussels, Main stories, Recent updates

Charles Michel, President of the European Council photo (c) European Union

Oliver Moore, additional research via Pour Une Autre Pac; edited 30/07/2020 at 12.00 CET with final Next Steps section.

After almost five days of intense meetings, EU Leaders agreed on a seven year budget and recovery package yesterday. This includes the MFF (multiannual financial framework, or typical EU budget) of E1.07 Trillion, plus a specific pandemic recovery package of E750 billion, split almost evenly between grants (E390bn) and loans (E360bn).

E750bn is the biggest ever issuance of joint European debt, to be borrowed on international markets.

A group of four or five member states (Netherlands, Austria, Sweden, Denmark and sometimes Finland) had held out for a more modest MFF. These member states were initially opposed to a recovery package at all, were then opposed to a recovery package weighted towards grants rather than loans as the Commission had proposed – E500bn grants to E250bn loans was the earlier Commission proposal. They also wanted a conditional rule of law clause included.

The latter was opposed by Hungary and Poland, and was in the end largely watered down into meaningless, without having any significant relation to the monies agreed.

The frugal four member states did gain rebates (repayments), while the balance between grants and loans reflects the preference to limit recovery spending.

A number of flagship Commission priorities have been impacted in health, science and climate. These include EU Green Deal or Green Deal relationed priorities such as the Just Transition fund – down from E40bn to just 10bn. Scientific research via the Horizon research programme, InvestEU programme and the Connecting Europe facility were cut from E210bn to E132bn – E75.9bn of this remaining total is for Horizon. Funding on migration, border management, security, defence neighbourhood and internal development were all also cut, while EU4Health, designed to deal with the consequences of the covid-19 pandemic, was scrapped.

Read the 21 June 20 EUCO final conclusions (english) in full

CAP impacted, Pillar 2 takes a hit

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is set at E336bn in the MFF, E344bn including the appropriations from the recovery plan (slightly down on the previous proposal of E348.5bn). The Pillar 1 budget is E259bn (almost identical to the E258bn in the previous proposal), of which a maximum of E240bn is for direct payments and a minimum of E18bn is for the common market organisation.

The European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD, or Pillar 2) will have a budget of E78bn (compared to E75bn in the previous proposal but with more appropriations from the recovery plan). Pillar 2 had, at various stages in the past few months, been proposed for both increases and decreases in funding. In the end, it sees the proposed extra E15bn in funds cut in half to 7.5bn of additional payments.

There is no time set for when this extra money can be spent, so it may be as late as 2023 before it can start.

Top ups to Pillar 2

15 countries including France have obtained a larger share of the EAFRD. These Pillar 2 environmental top ups will be allocated as follows: Belgium (E100 million), Germany (E650 million), Ireland (E300 million), Greece (E300 million), Spain (E500 million), France (E1 600 million), Croatia (E100 million), Italy (E 500 million), Cyprus (E 50 million), Malta (E 50 million), Austria (E 250 million), Slovakia (E 200 million), Slovenia (E 50 million), Portugal (E 300 million), Finland (E 400 million)

Transfers between Pillars 2

For the transfer of appropriations between pillars the general rule is for 25% transfer possible in both directions (from P1 to P2 or from P2 to P1).

Possible additional transfers from P1 to P2: 15% if it is for environmental or climatic measures and 2% if it is for support for young farmers
Possible additional transfer from P2 to P1: 5% for Member States whose value of payments per hectare is less than 90% of the EU average

Co-financing rate of the 2nd pillar

a) 100% for appropriations transferred from the first pillar
(b) 85% for the least developed regions
(c) 80% for ultramarine regions + MAECs + areas with environmental challenges (Natura 2000 in particular) + non-productive investments + LEADER + European Innovation Partnership (EIP)
d) 65% for the Natural or area specific constraints
(e) 60% for regions in transition
(f) 43% for all the rest

Climate, Capping and Convergence

40% of CAP budget is to be allocated to climate measures ( though as we’ve reported on here before, this in itself uses dubious metrics). There is a cap on direct payments, which are now called Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS). This is ostensibly set at E100,000 (excluding redistributive payments, ecoscheme, coupled aid, etc.). However, it is now optional for member states and not compulsory as initially proposed, and will also allow for wages equivalent reductions, which will limit the impact of capping.

External convergence continues slowly, with a 50% closing of the BISS gap by 2027. All member states with direct payments per hectare below 90% of the EU average will close the gap between their current average level of direct payments and 90% of the EU average by 50%, spread evenly over the six years of the programming period (2022 to 2027). In addition, all member states will have to reach at least E215 per hectare by 2027.

Next Steps

Technically, the Parliament must also approve this deal. While it passed a resolution in opposition to part of the deal, the Parliament is unlikely to vote against it. Similarly, it must be approved by national Parliaments. When this will start however, is unclear. A one or, if required, (as seems likely) two year CAP transitional budget is now also in place, so the next CAP period may start in January 2023.

Commission’s Dodgy Calculations Improve CAP’s Climate Impact

CAP & the Global South: National Strategic Plans – a Step Backwards?

CAP Strategic Plans on Climate, Environment – Ever Decreasing Circles

European Green Deal | Revving Up For CAP Reform, Or More Hot Air?

Climate and environmentally ambitious CAP Strategic Plans: Based on what exactly?

How Transparent and Inclusive is the Design Process of the National CAP Strategic Plans?

About Oliver Moore 218 Articles

Dr. Oliver Moore is the communications director and editor-in-chief with ARC2020. He has a PhD in the sociology of farming and food, where he specialised in organics and direct sales. He is published in the International Journal of Consumer Studies, International Journal of Agricultural Resources, Governance and Ecology and the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development. A weekly columnist and contributor with Irish Examiner, he is a regular on Countrywide (Irish farm radio show on the national broadcaster RTE 1) and engages in other communications work around agri-food and rural issues, such as with the soil, permaculture, climate change adaptation and citizen science initiative Grow Observatory . He lectures part time in the Centre for Co-operative Studies UCC.

A propos d'Oliver Moore
Oliver voyage beaucoup moins qu’auparavant, pour ce qui concerne son activité professionnelle. Il peut néanmoins admirer par la fenêtre de son bureau les mésanges charbonnières et les corbeaux perchés au sommet du saule dans le jardin de sa maison au cœur de l’écovillage de Cloughjordan, en Irlande. L’écovillage est un site de 67 acres dans le nord du Tipperary. Il comprend d’espaces boisés, des paysages comestibles, des lieux de vie, d’habitation et de travail, ainsi qu’une ferme appartenant à la communauté. Les jours où il travaille dans le bureau du centre d’entreprise communautaire, il profite d’une vue sur les chevaux, les panneaux solaires, les toilettes sèches et les jardins familiaux.

Ce bureau au sein de l’écovillage constitue en effet un tiers-lieu de travail accueillant également des collaborateurs des associations Cultivate et Ecolise, ainsi qu’un laboratoire de fabrication (« fab lab »).

Oliver est membre du conseil d’administration de la ferme communautaire (pour la seconde fois !) et donne également des cours sur le Master en coopératives, agroalimentaire et développement durable à l’University College Cork. Il a une formation en sociologie rurale : son doctorat et les articles qu’il publie dans des journaux scientifiques portent sur ce domaine au sens large.

Il consacre la majorité de son temps de travail à l’ARC 2020. Il collabore avec ARC depuis 2013, date à laquelle l’Irlande a assuré la présidence de l’UE pendant six mois. C’est là qu’il a pu constater l’importance de la politique agroalimentaire et rurale grâce à sa chronique hebdomadaire sur le site d’ARC. Après six mois, il est nommé rédacteur en chef et responsable de la communication, poste qu’il occupe toujours aujourd’hui. Oliver supervise le contenu du site web et des médias sociaux, aide à définir l’orientation de l’organisation et parfois même rédige un article pour le site web.

À l’époque où on voyageait davantage, il a eu la chance de passer du temps sous les tropiques, où il a aidé des ONG irlandaises de commerce équitable – au Ghana, au Kenya, au Mali, en Inde et au Salvador – à raconter leur histoire.

Il se peut que ces jours-là reviennent. Pour son compte Oliver continuera de préférer naviguer en Europe par bateau, puis en train. Après tout, la France n’est qu’à une nuit de navigation. En attendant, il y a toujours de nombreuses possibilités de bénévolat dans la communauté dans les campagnes du centre de l’Irlande.