While awaiting a clearer vision of its financing, AGRI Committee members drafted a new version of the Common Agricultural Policy.

First vote to reform the CAP

https://api.multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/documents/20125/16197616/n001-130124-001-en.srt

It’s winter and the weather is bitter.

But despite the heavy snowfall  there's a job to be done.

A dairy farm like this one in Belgium  is at the heart of the EU.

For decades Europe has been  investing in agriculture.

Across Europe farmers rely on subsidies  from the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy.

CAP is one of the EU's flagship policies  but it’s also one of the most costly.

Once it accounted for 80%  of the Union's budget.

That number has now been halved  to around 53 billion euros.

After 10 years, CAP is again undergoing  massive and urgent reform.

Without these subsidies, now known as  single payments, we couldn’t manage.

Today there absolutely has to be price,  to protect our remuneration.

so that this price is not passed on  to the consumers in an unnatural way.

The reforms could include changes  to the system of direct payments

according to land area farmed,  increase rural development

and also give farmers greater power  when they negotiate with distributors.

Cooperatives across Europe  will be able to carry greater weight

in negotiations with actors  further on in the chain.

MEPs have been voting  on 8,000 amendments.

Even so, for some MEPs,  they haven’t delivered.

The area of agricultural support  certainly needs reform.

The last package that went through in 2004  took us in the direction of decoupling,

away from wine lakes and butter mountains  and into area-based payments.

This was in the direction of a freer market.

So I was very disappointed  when I saw the original proposal,

She is demanding a more level playing field

in view of the huge benefits which recent  EU Member States, like Poland, get.

And greener policy-making. No surprise that  the Greens share common ground here.

Grassland protection. Important for  biodiversity and climate protection.

A real crop rotation.  This is unfortunately not happening.

so that we can secure  more ecological aspects to the CAP.

Many MEPs are hoping to  push through CAP reforms

before negotiations on the next long-term  EU budget are completed this year,

so they know what funds they’ll have  available for new measures.