EU agriculture ministers identify their priorities for CAP reform, MEPs want new rules to combat tax evasion and EP President visits the Vatican.

CAP reform / Tax evasion / Vatican visit

https://api.multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/documents/20125/16252882/n001-130320-002-en.srt

An agreement on the Common Agricultural  Policy is beginning to take shape.

After two days of negotiations, Agriculture  Ministers have identified their priorities.

They've scrapped the idea of rebalancing  subsidies between big and small farms.

Farmers will receive aid  if they adopt certain greening measures.

But these measures  could penalise small farms.

For smaller enterprises it’s naturally  more difficult to meet these requirements.

The European Parliament  has tried to focus on this

and to exempt smaller enterprises  from the rules, or to relax them.

It’s very difficult, but we have  another instrument too, rural development.

The CAP accounts for nearly 40%  of the European budget,

but by 2020  it will be cut by 45 billion euros.

Reforms to CAP  should be finalised by June.

Tax havens are ruining  developing countries.

Tax evasion costs them  almost 270 billion euros a year.

To combat this, MEPs want  to impose new accounting rules.

Money laundering is profitable business,  so we must put an end to it.

It would bring 1,000 billion euros  to European countries

and it would also allow –  and that’s my concern –

developing countries to have  fiscal resources worthy of the name.

The European Commission could propose  new legislation before the end of this year.

attended the inauguration mass of the new  Pope Francis in Rome on Tuesday morning.

In St Peter’s Square along with dignitaries  from all over the world,

Schulz said the new pope had always been  a man of the people, close to the poor,

and that he represents hope  for both believers and non-believers.

Pope Francis has been invited to speak  in the European Parliament in Strasbourg.