Toespraak Eurocommissaris Fischer-Boel over evaluatie begroting landbouwbeleid(en)

Member of the European Commission responsible for Agriculture and Rural Development

Speech to the European Parliament's Budgetary Control Committee

COCOBU (Budgetary Control Committee)

Brussels, 2 December 2008

Chairman, Members of the Committee, Members of the Court of Auditors i,

I will keep it short so we have time for a good dialogue.

Essentially, I am pleased with the very positive result for agriculture in this year's annual report of the Court of Auditors.

In the eyes of the Court, agricultural policy is not quite fully green just yet – but we're very close overall (like last year). And for 85 per cent of the expenditure we actually made it.

This is a credit to the IACS system, which has definitely proven to be a good and reliable control system. And it shows that shared management with Member States can work well when systems are good.

I also agree with the Court that things are not quite as good in rural development, particularly for agri-environmental measures. This does not surprise me because these measures are by nature more complex, for both farmers and inspectors.

Let me give you an example. In direct aid, the payment quite often depends only on the size of the farmer's fields. This is an easy rule for the farmer and it is easy to check.

In rural development, things are more complicated. For instance, we have a measure to protect grassland and so-called "biotopes". Here, the farmer has to meet several conditions, so inspectors need to check not only the size of the field but also stored substances and the use of fertilisers via a parcel diary. They have to go on the spot to check vegetation and soil. Breeding grounds for protected species also need to be verified.

This is complex - I agree - and it's clear that the risk of finding errors here is higher than in the first example.

Of course, we have to simplify the conditions as much as possible and make certain that we can check them. We asked Member States to do just that in the new rural development programmes. But we have to accept that checks in this area are always more difficult – and often more costly as well.

I am sure you can agree with me that agri-environmental measures are very important. It's clear that there's very strong public backing for looking after the countryside. I would be very unhappy if I had to drop such a policy in order to get a positive DAS.

This is why I am looking forward to the discussion on tolerable risk – and you will soon have a communication from the Commission on this issue. Let me be clear: This is NOT about creating a shortcut to a positive DAS. It is about making a political choice and finding the right balance between costs and benefits of our policies.

Another issue I want to mention to you – and which has kept us very busy over the last year - is IACS in Greece.

I have regularly informed you about this issue in writing. As you know, our key concern is whether the Greek authorities will have an operational land parcel identification system by the end of this month.

My services will go to Greece once again next week in order to assess at the last possible moment whether the Greek authorities have lived up to their commitment. I have already started the procedure which can lead to a suspension in payments to Greece but I will not take a final decision before I know the outcome of this audit.

Romania and Bulgaria have also had difficulties and we have interrupted the SAPARD payments to both countries. I will give you more details later if you wish.

A quick word about transparency. We discussed this a lot last year. This year I am able to say that we have delivered what we promised.

Let me also mention the CAP Health Check which was agreed by Council two weeks ago. The package contains a number of new simplifications, some of which reflect remarks made by you and the Court in recent years.

I want to end by stating my firm optimism for the future.

Although we did not quite make it this year, we got very close to a positive DAS for agriculture, and I am confident that we can get there soon. Your help is needed and so are the recommendations of the Court of Auditors. Let's continue to work together in a constructive way.

Now I am looking forward to hearing your questions.