The Efra Select Committee began hearing oral evidence on the EU Commission’s CAP reform plans this week.
Its investigation is a good opportunity to raise awareness of our concerns, and to press the committee to ask some probing questions about the government’s position.
We submitted written evidence on November 16. NFU President Peter Kendall then gave oral evidence on Tuesday this week.
- Click here to read our evidence on CAP ‘greening’.
- Read our more general evidence here.
- Watch Peter Kendall before the Efra committee here.
Our evidence on greening proposals drew on member feedback from a series of meetings around the country. A member of guiding principles emerged, listed below:
- Measures should be genuine incentives/ top-ups and participation in them should be voluntary for farmers with an ‘opt-out’ option
- A farmer who opts out of the greening measure should only forego the aid associated with the greening actions and face no further penalties or sanctions on the basic payment
- Greening should not undermine participation in agri-environment schemes and should take regard of actions beneficial to the environment already in operation on the farm
- Greening measures must be common and simple to understand, operate and administer
- The scale of the top up (as a proportion of the national envelope) should be the same throughout the EU and should be kept to a minimum proportion of the budget
- Greening measures should not hinder competitiveness and food production.
The Efra committee intends to conclude its investigation in the New Year.
Visit the NFUonline CAP channel here.
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