In presenting the plan, Mr Juncker and his deputy Frans Timmermans, explained that abandoning certain pieces of legislation in favour of others was necessary to “clear the decks so that political efforts are focussed on the real priorities.”
Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan has withdrawn certain laws as part of his intention to simplify the CAP.
On agriculture, the work plan contained commitments to ditch:
- Aid scheme for fruit and vegetables in school
- The energy taxation directive
- Plant reproductive material – the ‘seeds law’
The organic farming regulation was also included. The Commission is giving Parliament and Council six months to reach an agreement on the dossier before scrapping the proposal. Critics are saying that this is unclear – there is no guidance as to what level of agreement is intended and six months is a short time frame in Brussels.
The announcement is largely good news for UK farming; for example, the Energy Taxation Directive would have lifted special tax exemptions for fuel used in agriculture. Currently a full rebate of duty is available for heavy fuel oil for heating, which is used widely used in agriculture. Any change to this position would have meant increased costs for farmers. The work plan also commits to ‘modifying’ the National Emissions Ceilings directive – which may dispel rumours that farmers could find the responsibility for hefty cuts in ammonia use dumped on their shoulders.
The Plant Reproductive Material file – known as the seeds law – would have created unnecessary burdens around the trading and importing of seeds. It was withdrawn after Parliament and Council voted to dismiss the file in June of this year.
Farming unions will need to be wary of welcoming the news too broadly as the Commission may yet reintroduce the legislation via other means. It has already indicated that the National Emissions Ceiling directive will form part of the 2030 Energy and Climate Package.
The European Parliament will now have a rubber-stamp vote on the work plan at the end of January 2015.