Transition towards new arrangements for aid under the two pillars of the Common Agricultural Policy

Subject: Transition towards new arrangements for aid under the two pillars of the Common Agricultural Policy

On 31 October 2019, the Commission published two proposals for regulations governing the transition between the arrangements for aid under the two pillars of the Common Agricultural Policy. The first, which is due to be approved by the end of the year, is a Commission proposal for a regulation amending Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 on financial discipline as from financial year 2021 and the second is Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 as regards flexibility between pillars in respect of calendar year 2020.

Since these proposals are likely to pass into law, and for the avoidance of any doubt:

1. What will be the financial and budgetary impact of this legal change in the calendar year 2020?

2. In particular, can the Commission say whether, under any circumstances, first-pillar CAP aid for 2020 – which will be accounted for in financial year 2021 (and thus the next Multiannual Financial Framework) – could thus also be subject to the transitional provisions and, in particular, the cuts provided for in the Commission’s proposals for regulations?

Supporters1

1 This question is supported by Members other than the authors: Lídia Pereira (PPE), Maria da Graça Carvalho

(PPE)

Answer given by Mr Wojciechowski on behalf of the European Commission (4 February 2020)

The two Commission proposals (2) aim to provide continuity for support to farmers for the transitional year 2021 for which the new legislative framework for the common agricultural policy (CAP) is not in place yet.

The first proposal ensures that Member States continue to have the possibility to make transfers of funds between the CAP pillars in calendar year 2020/financial year 2021 and allows applying financial discipline in financial year 2021.

The possibility to make transfers was already provided by Regulation (EU) 2019/288 (3), but the amount was set as a percentage to the amounts adopted following the regulation on the Multiannual Financial Framework for the period 2021-2027 (the MFF Regulation), making the transfer from rural development to direct payments impossible in the absence of the MFF Regulation.

The financial allocations of Member States for the year 2020 are not changed by this proposal. The transfers between pillars will be neutral for the overall national allocations. The proposal therefore does not have any implications for the calendar year 2020 allocations. However, it ensures that the sub ceilings for the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund for 2021 and beyond can be respected, where necessary, by using the mechanism of financial discipline.

The second proposal fixes the budgetary allocations that will be available to Member States in year 2021 and makes the necessary adaptations to apply the current rules during that year.

The proposed allocations for year 2021, including for direct payments, are in line with those of the proposal for the MFF Regulation.

The proposal for the continuity of CAP support is dependent on the adoption of the MFF proposal and would need to take into account the allocations adopted in this framework.

⋅1∙ This question is supported by Members other than the authors: Lídia Pereira (PPE), Maria da Graça Carvalho (PPE)

⋅2∙ Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 as regards financial discipline

as from financial year 2021 and Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 as regards flexibility between pillars in respect of calendar year 2020 (COM/2019/580 final) and Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL laying down certain transitional provisions for the support by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and by the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) in the year 2021 and amending Regulations (EU) No 228/2013, (EU) No 229/2013 and (EU) No 1308/2013 as regards resources and their distribution in respect of the year 2021 and amending Regulations (EU) No 1305/2013, (EU) No 1306/2013 and (EU) No 1307/2013 as regards their resources and application in the year 2021 (COM/2019/581 final). ⋅3∙ Regulation (EU) 2019/288 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 February 2019 amending Regulations (EU) No 1305/2013 and (EU) No 1307/2013

as regards certain rules on direct payments and support for rural development in respect of the years 2019 and 2020 (OJ L 53, 22.2.2019, p. 14).