CAP reform delay expected

Virtually all ministers at last Tuesday’s informal meeting of EU agriculture ministers in Denmark were reported to be of the view that CAP reform will not be implemented on schedule in Jan, 2014.

British Agriculture Minister Jim Paice went public on the challenge, saying, “It is practically certain that we will not be able to implement the reform for Jan 1, 2014.

Observers in Brussels say that delayed negotiations over the new overall EU budgetary framework for 2014-2020 have left CAP negotiators with no clear idea of the overall allocation for CAP, so it is impossible for them to get into CAP specifics, especially the distribution of agricultural support.