"I don't know if we will reach an agreement on Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve, but it would be good to do it earlier."

With this graphic expression, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food,

Luis Planas

, has recognized after more than eight hours of meeting with the councilors of the branch of the 17 autonomous communities that the agreement for the new model of the reform of European aid for the period 2023-2027 it is still very far from being achieved.

The first formal meeting to try to reach a consensus on the National Strategic Plan of the CAP - which must be sent to Brussels before December 31 for the European Commission to validate it - certified that there is a stark distance between the Government's proposal and the positions, diametrically opposed in some cases, between the autonomous communities, all of them present at the Sectorial Conference this Wednesday held at the headquarters of the Ministry.

There have been "some lights but many shadows". It is the most conclusive diagnosis warned by various sources consulted, which recognize that Planas' work will not be "not at all easy" to combine the interests established in advance, not only because of the different political signs that govern the autonomous communities but also because of the great diversity of agricultural productions existing in our country. Combining these two parameters, together with the profound strategic changes already approved by Brussels for the new aid period (especially due to environmental conditions), is the great challenge that Planas faces, also taking into account that for the first time in the history of the CAP that each Member State is given broad decision-making power when designing and enforcing European regulations.

Hence, during the meeting Planas asked the councilors to leave behind the differences, some very important, that separate them and seek consensus as it was, "although it is not very fashionable in Spain," he acknowledged; yes, he himself set himself as an example because "I preach and practice it." Each of the 17 councilors of Agriculture arrived at the meeting "with a CAP model in their heads," confessed Planas, who must achieve in a single document -the Strategic Plan- that collects most of the sensitivities of a agricultural sector as productive and diverse as the Spanish. Of course, he warned them that if there is no agreement, the last word is the Ministry itself.

But that 'middle way' to reach a "complex" agreement is still far from being achieved. The greatest difficulty

focuses on the so-called eco-schemes,

that is, the demanding environmental requirements that farmers and ranchers are obliged to meet in order to fight against climate change in their productions. In fact, direct aid is conditional on nothing and nothing less than 25% of the total (1,200 million euros per year at stake).

If they do not implement more ecological production models, with specific climate measures, they will be forced to return this percentage, having, of course, two initial years of learning, 2023 and 2024. Such were the differences at this point in the meeting this Wednesday that the parties have given a kind of 'political truce' while the technicians design a parameter that is the most appropriate and affordable to the average Spanish farmer and rancher with the aim of saving these requirements that make it difficult to start up, in especially those with lower farms, where profitability is lower, and therefore cannot afford high investments to apply these environmental parameters and produce organic products.

The first technical appointment to deepen the application of the eco-schemes will be within a week, next Wednesday, July 21, with the aim that in autumn ("end of September or October" in the words of the minister) it will meet again for Second time the Sectorial Conference and both the Ministry and the Autonomous Communities can achieve a "flexible" consensus on this matter, essential for Brussels, which has been based on the

'From Farm to Table' and 'Biodiversity of the European Green Pact' strategies,

to apply these requirements.

Another of the fundamental parameters that must be approved in our country for the European Commission to give the go-ahead, at most in the first half of 2022, is the definition of

'active farmer',

that is, one who meets the necessary conditions to obtain the aid and that there is no fraud from the cataloged '

parlor farmers

' who have received large subsidies for years without 'stepping on' a hectare of field. Although there was no vote this Wednesday among those present at the meeting, it seems clear that the Ministry's proposal will go ahead with the following requirements: be registered in the Social Security agrarian self-employed regime;

have at least 25% of agricultural income in their income and that the previous CAP aid does not exceed a maximum of 5,000 euros

.

On the other hand, the minimum threshold for receiving direct aid will remain at 300 euros.

In the case of direct aid linked to production (associated payments), they will be applied to vulnerable sectors from the social and economic point of view, such as livestock, especially, extensive or dairy production, as well as protein crops, among others.

The traditional olive grove will benefit, for the first time, from a sectoral intervention that will improve its management to reduce its production costs.

Some communities even proposed that the income from agricultural activity should exceed 60% of the total annual income, but the position, at the moment inflexible by Planas, is also to grant the possibility to the 'part-time' farmer to obtain the subsidies (maximum in this case of 5,000 euros) because they also carry out productive activities and help improve the environment.

The maximum limit of basic aid per recipient has been estimated at 100,000 euros

and the reduction of up to 85% from 60,000 euros, being able to reduce labor costs.

The Madrid councilor,

Paloma Martín

, criticized at the end of the meeting the "lack of transparency and information on the matter that was being addressed today", since the Ministry "has not provided any type of draft or additional documents on which to assess the Clearly the different proposals on the implementation of the new CAP "to add that" from what we have been able to know, they do not go into the details of the aid, nor do they position themselves on what really concerns farmers and ranchers ".

Another case, for example, is that of Extremadura, which with more

than 95% of the tobacco production

in Spain tries to ensure that this crop maintains current aid. The Valencian Community, which already assured that the previous CAP was a serious damage to its agricultural sector, considers that the new model does not convince either because "it does not change the rules of the game that discriminate different payments in regions to equal products, which implies territorial imbalances ", according to his advisor

Mireia Mollà

. And so each autonomous community, as they say, is a different world.

Andalusia, which represents 33% of the recipients of the CAP in Spain

, proposed 30 changes to the global proposal presented by MAPA and defends that "no Andalusian farmer is left out" of the funds. Galicia, on the contrary, is committed to a CAP more focused on the model of small and medium-sized farms after verifying that the technical document presented by the Ministry "protects farms of another profile, which are in the Levante and the national south."

Nor was there a consensus between the parties - the opinion of the agrarian organizations, which the minister will cite shortly - is lacking when defining the number of productive regions, which Planas wants to reduce from the current fifty to a maximum number of 20, with the aim of achieving internal convergence between them, that is, that the average payments to farmers, regardless of their crops, are increasingly similar. Thus, the idea is that by 2027

85% of each of these productive regions will earn the same

.

There is also a deep open debate, and still far from consensus, on the maintenance or not of the historical rights of each producer.

In these 20 productive regions the areas of permanent pastures, dry herbaceous crops, irrigated herbaceous crops and permanent crops will be differentiated.

Regarding the amounts, the general budget that the CAP will have in our country in the new period - which will come into force on January 1, 2023 and for the next four years -

rises to 47,724 million euros

, according to says Minister Luis Planas, which will affect some 695,000 beneficiaries.

40% of these grants are aimed at a commitment to the environment to make a more sustainable use of natural resources.

Both agricultural organizations and some communities criticize that it represents 10% less than the previous budget

, which then included the United Kingdom before Brexit.

However, there is little to negotiate in the amounts because "they are what they are" and the funds, except for some smaller amounts contributed by each Member State, are marked by Brussels.

Another thing is the form of distribution that is made of them.

In any case, that will mean approximately

4.8 billion euros each year for Spanish farmers and ranchers

in concept of direct payments, of which 1,200 will be conditional on the eco-schemes. Another 1,100 million of the annual total will be allocated to Rural Development policies (EAFRD funds). In addition, 3% of the aid (2% from direct aid and the other 1% from the second pillar) must be aimed at the generational change of aid to young farmers (about 140 million annually) and rise by more than 10% those of promotion for the promotion of the activity of women in rural areas. The document also includes a more exhaustive monitoring of possible offenders when hiring agricultural workers, registration with Social Security or occupational safety and hygiene.

In short, just over five months of exhaustive work are missing to try to reach a consensus on a document that brings together all the sensitivities and interests of the 17 autonomous communities, although Planas already issued a clear warning yesterday: "The National Strategic Plan is drawn up by the Government of Spain "In other words, it

is your Ministry that has the last word, and once the dialogue between the parties is exhausted, to approve the guidelines with the supervision, of course, of the European Commission.

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Know more

  • Spain

  • European Comission

  • Luis Planas

  • Social Security

  • Galicia

  • UK

  • Valencian Community

  • Estremadura

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