EP eens met Commissievoorstellen simplificeren landbouwbeleid zolang het beleid niet verandert (en)

Parliament approved on Thursday the European Commission's proposal to simplify the EU's common agricultural policy by merging the 21 existing sector-specific market organisations (CMOs) into a single regulation. However, MEPs say this decision should be solely "an act of technical simplification" and must not introduce reforms through the back door.

Parliament's report, drafted by Niels Busk (ALDE, DK) and adopted under the consultation procedure by 468 votes to 14 with no abstentions, confirms the position of the EP Agriculture Committee of 8 May. MEPs agree that the new regulation should give the Commission powers to adopt market management decisions of a technical nature, i.e. secondary acts previously adopted by the EU Council of ministers. This will enable decisions to be taken swiftly and effectively.

Keep pig market intervention, include wines and fruit and vegetables later

All political provisions, however, should continue to be adopted by the Council after consulting the European Parliament, the committee insists. For this reason, Members reject the idea of scrapping the intervention scheme for pig meat as part of this simplification.

Moreover, MEPs argue that CMOs currently under revision, namely the fruit and vegetable and wine sectors, should not be incorporated into the new regulation yet, as this would prejudge the outcome of the reforms.

Four management committees to ensure sectoral expertise

According to Parliament, establishing a single management committee for all agricultural sectors as suggested by the Commission would raise doubts as to how to ensure that the necessary sectoral expertise is available. The report therefore calls for the setting up of four management committees, one for meat, one for dairy products, one for vegetables and one for perennial crops.

Keep carcass classification system and import licences

Parliament recommends that the carcass classification system should continue to be established by the Council and not by the Commission.

Mandatory import licenses should continue to be required for cereals, sugar, rice, flax and hemp, as well as products from the milk, beef and veal sectors and the olive sector, with derogations only for cereal products, sugar or rice and then only under certain conditions.

Contracts for sugar beet, interbranch organisations

MEPs also say that framework rules governing contractual relations between buyers and sellers of sugar beet should only lay down minimum guarantees because of the difficulty of providing for uniform purchase terms throughout the Community.

Lastly, they suggest that the new regulation should refer to "organisations of an interbranch nature" rather than "interbranch organisations" to ensure that all sectoral bodies are targeted, whatever their designation or status.

The ball is now in the court of the agriculture ministers, who are due to debate this matter at their next Council meeting on 11 and 12 June in Luxembourg.