May 15 CAP application deadline extended

Farmers trying to cope with the extensive changes in the Common Agricultural Policy can look forward to a few weeks of extra time, due to an extension of the usual May 15 closing date for the application for EU direct payments and other EU schemes.

Ireland was one of the member states seeking to have the CAP subsidy application deadline extended, at this week’s meeting of the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council in Brussels, and Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney welcomed EU Agriculture Commissioner Hogan’s announcement that he is extending the period for submission of applications.

Commissioner Hogan said the May 15 deadline emerged as an issue in talks on implementation of the new CAP, during this week’s Council of EU agriculture ministers.

“I have listened to the concerns raised by farmers and national administrations, and am thus willing to show some flexibility, so have asked my services to look at pushing back the deadline by a few weeks.”

On Tuesday, he said he will publish the new closing date in the coming days.

Minister Coveney said an additional period will take some of the pressure off farmers.

“We have asked for early clarification of the new application deadlines, and that this extension should apply to Pillar I and to Pillar II schemes”.

Farmers across the EU had warned they faced problems in the new CAP, due to gaps in the rules and lack of clarity, especially vis-a-vis the new greening payment which replaces 30% of the old single farm payment.

They warned of a high risk of unintentional errors during the first years of implementing the new CAP, and called for tolerance by EU officials, accusing them of huge cuts in farmers’ payments as punishment for minor errors.

The increasing amount of information requested will make the aid application more complex for farmers, in particular in 2015 due to the extremely short period of time available to them, warned EU farmers recently.

Even before the CAP reform, excessive red tape and bureaucracy had been a major concern for farmers and agricultural co-ops, stifling innovation and investments, said EU farmers and co-ops spokesman Udo Hemmerling.

“On-farm visits to advise and help farmers to implement the greening rules correctly and deliver the desired environmental benefits are crucial”, he said.

He welcomed Commissioner Hogan’s recent launch of a comprehensive screening exercise of the entire agricultural legislation.

“A reduction in red tape would free up time and resources to boost investment, growth and jobs,” said Mr Hemmerling.

“It will also be crucial for us to ensure that the greening measures do not result in land being taken out of production.”