​European Committee of the Regions welcomes role given to regions in managing CAP, but regrets lack of ambition on the redistribution of direct payments and transition to sustainable production

Following the adoption by the European Parliament's Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI)  report on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) strategic plans, the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) welcomes the fact that the role of the regions in managing and implementing has been recognised, and shown determination to better ensure the transition to more sustainable production methods. However, it regrets that the report does not propose a fully-fledged redistribution of one-off payments.

"We are pleased that the report clearly mentions the role of the regions as authorities responsible for managing the future CAP. This support is crucial, at a time when the Member States are pressing for recentralisation of the CAP," emphasises Karl-Heinz Lambertz (BE/PES), the president of the CoR.

Regarding the transition to more sustainable production methods, the CoR welcomes the proposal to pay farmers more for agro-environmental services and dedicate at least 15% of the budget envelope to eco-schemes, but considers that the AGRI Committee should have gone much further and followed the recommendations of the CoR to raise this level to 30%. The CoR's rapporteur on CAP reform, Guillaume Cros (FR/PES), Vice-President of the Regional Council of Occitanie, explains: "We are also calling for quantified, measurable common European objectives for the national strategic plans to be included in the Regulation, in order to minimise distortions of competition between Member States and respond to the climate and environmental challenges."

Further information
CoR opinion on The CAP after 2020

Contact:
Wioletta Wojewodzka
Tel. +32 2 282 22 89
wioletta.wojewodzka@cor.europa.eu