{"id":45768,"date":"2017-09-26T07:00:33","date_gmt":"2017-09-26T05:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rss.nova-institut.net\/public.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.euractiv.com%2Fsection%2Fagriculture-food%2Fnews%2Fenvironmentalists-push-for-fitness-check-and-clear-goals-in-the-next-cap%2F"},"modified":"2017-09-13T15:31:05","modified_gmt":"2017-09-13T13:31:05","slug":"environmentalists-push-for-fitness-check-and-clear-goals-in-the-next-cap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/environmentalists-push-for-fitness-check-and-clear-goals-in-the-next-cap\/","title":{"rendered":"Environmentalists push for \u2018fitness check\u2019 and clear goals in the next CAP"},"content":{"rendered":"

Europe\u2019s biggest alliance of environmental groups has called for a thorough fitness check of the EU\u2019s flagship Common Agricultural Policy, questioning its structure, implementation and impact, and proposing a far-reaching overhaul to ensure it is up to the challenges of the 21st century.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is the EU\u2019s biggest budget item, accounting for around 40% of the bloc\u2019s total spending, or \u20ac59 billion per year. The policy is built around two pillars: providing direct payments to farmers and funding environmentally friendly rural development.<\/p>\n

Lawmakers approved a major revamp of the CAP in 2013, including strengthened \u2018greening\u2019 measures tying payments to environmental accountability. Discussions on the future of the CAP post-2020 are now under way but early indications from politicians involved in the process suggest we are unlikely to see a big departure from the status quo.<\/p>\n

The current policy is regularly criticised for failing to protect farmers\u2019 incomes and encouraging unsustainable, environmentally harmful practices. Environmentalists say the \u2018greening\u2019 measures introduced in 2013 are failing to halt biodiversity loss, soil depletion and water pollution, while farmers are struggling to make a living and there is little connection between farm subsidies and EU food or health policy.<\/p>\n

\u201cA new contract\u201d<\/h3>\n

In a position paper published on Wednesday (6 September), the European Environmental Bureau (EEB), a network of 141 environmental organisations in more than 30 countries, argued that the next CAP should make a clean break from the past and form \u201ca new contract between farmers and society\u201d.<\/p>\n

To achieve this, the EEB said, the Commission must thoroughly review the CAP and clarify its objectives. It should then ensure the post-2020 policy is founded on the principles of ecosystem protection, sustainable rural development and healthy consumption, which together will allow EU farming to face the challenges of the 21st century.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reason there are so many crises in EU agriculture is mainly because the investments that have been made have not been what is best for the environment or the economy,\u201d Faustine Bas-Defossez, policy manager for agriculture and bioenergy at EEB, told EURACTIV.com.<\/p>\n

Under the CAP\u2019s current two-pillar structure, around 70% of funds allocated to member states are disbursed to farmers as direct payments (Pillar 1), calculated based on the amount of land they manage or own.<\/p>\n

Farmers receive the remaining 30% of their allocations for the \u2018greening\u2019 measures they undertake (Pillar 2), which include crop diversification, the maintenance of permanent grassland and so-called ecological focus areas: hedges, buffer strips, forested areas and other natural habitats.<\/p>\n

A broken system<\/h3>\n

Yet the two pillars do not always work in harmony: \u201cHarmful payments in Pillar 1 often cancel out the limited environmental benefits brought by Pillar 2,\u201d the EEB stated. And there is some doubt as to whether the Pillar 2 payments really work either.<\/p>\n

According to the EEB, most of the zones for which farmers receive \u2018greening\u2019 payments are in fact full of crops. \u201cIn some countries, farmers even receive a green payment for maize monocultures\u201d.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, farmers can expect to receive their payment in full, regardless of whether they make real environmentally motivated decisions or just tick the boxes required by the CAP.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a way, the current CAP pays for compliance with legislation. This is not justifiable as it does not add value. In no other sector do we pay people to abide by the law,\u201d Bas-Defossez said.<\/p>\n

What is more, green payments are in no way linked to compliance with the EU\u2019s water or pesticides directives, meaning farmers can still pocket their environmental subsidies in full even if their actions exacerbate the pollution of watercourses or the loss of biodiversity.<\/p>\n

Time for a fitness check<\/h3>\n

The CAP was originally designed to feed Europe after WWII and there is little doubt that this worked. But critics say its objectives are now outdated, while its focus on productivity and exports does not take into account domestic consumption choices or health concerns and has left farmers vulnerable to economic shocks.<\/p>\n

For the EEB, the starting point for the discussion on the next CAP should be a frank debate over its objectives. \u201cIs it a social policy? If so, is it really sustainable that a lot of farmers are relying on direct payments for more than 50% of their income? Or is it an agricultural policy?\u201d Bas-Defossez asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Birds and Habitats directives were subjected to a proper, inclusive and transparent fitness check,\u201d the policy expert said. \u201cOne of the outcomes of this exercise was that agriculture is one of the major threats to biodiversity so it sounded legitimate to follow that exercise with a fitness check of the CAP.\u201d<\/p>\n

Civil society organisations and MEPs broadly agree, but the Commission sided with the member states and chose not to start the process.<\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps they were afraid that the check would conclude that the EU needed a complete change in agricultural policy,\u201d Bas-Defossez hinted.<\/p>\n

EPP backs further intensification of farming<\/h3>\n

Indeed, a recently leaked document from the European People\u2019s Party revealed that Europe\u2019s centre-right politicians are not prepared to question the CAP\u2019s economy-first bias.<\/p>\n

According to the centre-right EPP, which currently heads the European Commission, Council and Parliament, \u201cwithout economic stability (higher income), it is illusory to believe that farmers will continue farming and stay being the environmental wards\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cSustainable intensification of food production\u201d is the only way to ensure a future for European agriculture, the EPP document said.<\/p>\n

The powerful pan-European party went on to express its continued support for the CAP\u2019s direct payments, which it described as \u201cindispensable\u201d and said that \u201cabolishing them should be avoided at any cost\u201d.<\/p>\n

But the EBB believes the next CAP must do more to link payments to environmental accountability. This would mean encouraging alternatives to intensive agricultural methods that depend heavily on chemical inputs.<\/p>\n

However, in its leaked paper, the EPP criticised environmentalists for \u201cdisregarding the other challenges faced by the sector and often overlooking the fact that CAP has already done a lot for the natural environment\u201d.<\/p>\n

Polluter pays<\/h3>\n

One area where environmentalists are hoping they can make inroads in the debate is the \u2018polluter pays\u2019 principle. They argue the real cost of our agricultural system is much higher than it appears because unsustainable practices damage public goods such as water and air quality.<\/p>\n

More than any other sector, farmers rely on healthy natural resources to make a living. Keeping these resources intact, the EEB argues, must be the primary concern of the future CAP.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe subsidise farmers to use unsustainable practices and then taxpayers are left to pick up the bill whenever things go wrong, environmentally or economically,\u201d said Bas-Defossez. \u201cThe \u2018polluter pays\u2019 principle must be applied to make sure public money really does protect public goods.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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