MEPs pass environment measures

A toned down version of controversial environmental measures that will dictate how much farmers get from EU funds in the future were backed by a majority of the European Parliament.

It is a major step in reforming the EU’s common agriculture policy.

The result reflected a narrow win for environmentalists over those who supported farmers retaining many features of the old policy, which is set to cost about €400bn over the next seven years.

There are just a few major steps left now for the EU’s reforms to be put in place: Agriculture ministers to come to their own agreement next week, and then to reach a final compromise with the parliament and the European Commission in April, and for member states and the parliament to agree the outcome in June.

The battle between proposals from the agriculture and environment committees of the parliament resulted in MEPs agreeing that 30% of national budgets for direct payments would be linked to mandatory greening measures including crop diversification, maintaining permanent pasture and grassland, and creating ecologically focused areas.

However, they said the measures put forward by the commission must be made more flexible and introduced gradually, while there should be some exceptions, for example, farm size.

Young farmers will be eligible for a top-up payment of 25% up to a maximum of 100 hectares under the parliament’s proposals. It defeated amendments that proposed continuing milk quotas — which many EU members want to continue until at least 2017.

Irish farming bodies favour scrapping this in 2015 — or even earlier.

The parliament suggested granting aid for at least three months to milk producers who voluntarily cut their production by at least 5% — a move criticised as being “a backdoor quota”.

But they voted against scrapping sugar quotas in 2015 before the sector is liberalised in 2020 and, following heavy lobbying, will continue to subsidise tobacco growing. There was also criticism for the vote to extend crisis intervention mechanisms.

MEPs voted to bring the funding for farmers in the different EU states closer together more quickly than the commission had proposed, saying that farmers must receive at least 65% of the EU average.

They also proposed that member states should prepare a once-off application for aid that would remain valid for several years unless there are changes in the farm.

A third of Irish farming households are classified as economically vulnerable and, according to Socialist MEP Paul Murphy, the parliament’s voting will not do much to change this.

He pointed out that 80% of the direct payments go to just 20% of farmers with big agri-businesses; processing plants such as baby milk powder and landlords benefit disproportionately. In 2009 the queen of England received €500,000 in payments.

The parliament voted to cap payments at €300,000 and to substantially reduce payments to those receiving more than €150,000.

Golf clubs, airports, and others that have land for their business purposes will be excluded under the parliament’s proposals unless they can prove that farming contributes a substantial share of their income.

EU countries would be free to extend the list.