Timeline Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)

Tuesday, February 12, 2019

Developments of the Common Agricultural Policy

TIME EVENT CONTENTS
1957 Treaty of Rome

Contents (i.a.):

  • The respective agricultural policies of the founding countries of the then European Economic Community were replaced by common objectives of a European agricultural policy.

Main focus:

  • Increase food production
1962 Birth of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Union (EU)

Main focus:

  • Market support

Emphasis:

  • Ensuring the supply of high-quality, safe and affordable food for European citizens
  • Support European farmers
1979 Birds Directive

GBI relevant content:

  • Requires the management of habitats outside protected sites and make specific reference to connecting sites and connective features
1991 Nitrates Directive

GBI relevant content:

  • Semi-natural features included in the code of good practice for farmers
1992 MacSharry CAP reform

Main focus:

  • Product support

Implementation of:

  • Supplementary income support
  • Direct payments per hectare for farmers
  • Compensatory payments in the livestock sector depending on the number of animals kept
1992 The Habitats Directive

GBI relevant content:

  • Requires the management of habitats outside protected sites and make specific reference to connecting sites and connective features
1999 Agenda 2000 CAP reform

Contents:

  • Supplementary income support is replaced by direct payments
  • Promotion of environmental measures and food safety
  • Support for rural development – establishment of the second pillar of the CAP
2000 Water Framework Directive

GBI relevant content:

  • Protect aquatic ecosystems and wetlands
2003 Fischler CAP reform

Contents:

  • Decoupling farm income support  from production
  • Introduction of the Single Payment Scheme
  • Linking direct aids to cross-compliance
  • Modulation: Permission to transfer funds between the two pillars

GBI relevant content:

  • Cross compliance: some landscape elements with a certain size are not allowed to be cut and removed
2007 Floods Directive

GBI relevant content:

  • Protect aquatic ecosystems and wetlands
  • Natural Water Retention Measures (NWRM) supported as implementation measures
2009 EU Parliament gains significant power of codecision to shape the CAP  
2011 Biodiversity strategy of the EU by 2020

GBI relevant content:

  • maintaining and enhancing ecosystem services and restoring degraded ecosystems by incorporating GI in spatial planning
2013 CAP reform

Implementation of:

  • different direct payment schemes to farmers: basic payment, greening, redistributive payment, additional support for young farmers, small farmer scheme

GBI relevant content:

  • Introduction of greening measures
  • General aim: restoring, preserving and enhancing ecosystems related to agriculture and forestry
2013 EU strategy on adaptation to climate change

GBI relevant content:

  • Aims to ensure the full mobilisation of ecosystem-based approaches to adaptation building on the GI Strategy
6 May 2013 EU GI Strategy - enhancing the value of European natural capital  
2016 Climate and Energy Framework 2030

GBI relevant content:

  • LULUCF draft regulation makes reference to a range of GBI features
2017 Action Plan for Nature, People and the Economy

GBI relevant content:

  • Requires the development of guidance on GI projects

CAP reform for the period 2021-2027

February - May 2017 Public consultations by the EC on the future of the CAP after 2020  
2nd half-year of 2017 Presidency of the EU Council: Estonia  

29 November 2017

 EC’s Communication on the The Future of Food and Farming

Contents:

  • More scope of action (subsidiarity) for member states
  • Support of young farmers
  • Promoting knowledge-based, sustainable and resilient agriculture
1st half-year of 2018 Presidency of the EU Council: Bulgaria  
March 2018 European Court of Auditors publishes briefing paper on ‘The future of the CAP’ in response to the Communication of the EC

    Contents:

  • Statistics on which the Communication is based do not meet the criteria
  • Demand for relevant and verifiable targets for the CAP Strategic Plans of the Member States
  • Demand for a robust performance review framework
May 2018 EC submits proposal for a council regulation laying down the multiannual financial framework (MFF) for the years 2021 to 2027

The MFF 2021-2027 includes €365 billion for the CAP (28.5% of the total EU budget):

  • 265.2 billion euro for direct payments
  • 20 billion euro for market support measures (EAGF)
  • 78.8 billion euro for rural development (EAFRD)
1 June 2018 EC publishes its legislative proposal for the next CAP after 2020

Main focus:

  • Shift of the focus from compliance with regulations to result orientation

Contents:

  • Introduction of CAP Strategic plans linking the objectives of both pillars
  • More subsidiarity for Member States
  • Introduction of eco-scheme in pillar 1
  • Replacement of ‘greening’ with advanced environmental conditionality
  • Continuation of agri-environment climate commitments in pillar 2
June 2018 - May 2019 EC, Council and EU Parliament negotiate on the MFF and CAP Reform  
2nd half-year 2018 Presidency of the EU Council: Austria  
7 November 2018 Publication of the Opinion on the proposed CAP reform 2020 (7/2018) of the European Court of Auditors

Contents:

  • CAP reform proposal is not in line with EU efforts to make agriculture more environmentally friendly
  • Weakening accountability
  • Instruments to achieve climate and environmental objectives are not clearly defined and not translated into quantifiable targets.
  • Weakening of the audit assurance framework
17 December 2018 Meeting of the EU Agriculture & Fisheries and Environment Councils  

Countdown CAP reform: Agricultural policy timetable until 2027

1st half-year 2019 Presidency of the EU Council: Romania

Contents:

  • Priority: Negotiations on the modernisation and simplification of the CAP after 2020
Until 1 January 2020 Member States develop their CAP strategic plans

Contents:

  • Presentation of the different measures (from 2021 on: ‘interventions’) by each Member State
  • Determination of requirements and targets
  • Determination of control and sanction rules by each member state
  • Monitoring by and reporting to the EC
  • Regional implementation of the 2nd pillar

28 January, 18 March, 15-16 April, 14 May, 3, 4 and 18 June 2019

 Agricultural Council (AGRIFISH) meetings  
7,  18,  19, 27 February Meetings of the EU Committee on Agriculture of the European Parliament  
11 or 21 February 2019 Vote on the CAP in Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (COMENVI) in the European Parliament  
6 March 2019 Vote on the CAP in Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (COMAGRI) in the EU Parliament  
29 March 2019 Brexit  
April 2019 Vote on the CAP in the plenary session of the European Parliament  
Spring 2019 Planned agreement on the MFF 2021-2027  

23-26 May 2019

 New elections of the EU Parliament  
2nd half-year of 2019 Presidency of the EU Council: Finland  
November 2019 Term of office of the new EC starts  
End 2019 - beginning 2020 Trilogue (European Parliament, Agriculture Council and EC) to agree on final common text  
2020 Preparation and implementation of strategic CAP plans in the EU Member States  
1st half-year of 2020 Presidency of the EU Council: Croatia  
2nd half-year of 2020 Presidency of the EU Council: Germany  
2021-2027 Planned implementation of the CAP