The acting Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, has chaired, at the headquarters of the Ministry, the meeting of the Consultative Council of Agricultural Policy, in which he has reviewed with the regional councilors of the branch the matters that will be addressed in the Council of Agriculture Ministers of the European Union next Monday, in Brussels.
Among these issues is the proposed transition regulations that will be presented by the European Commission (EC) to continue the support of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The minister explained that 2021 will be a year of transition in which the Member States will have to prepare the full implementation of the new CAP. Therefore, it is essential to ensure that the CAP recipients continue to receive their support on a regular basis.
Transition regulations guarantee the continuity of all CAP assistance, including direct payments, until the strategic plans come into effect.
According to these regulations, the requests for direct aid for the year 2021 will continue to be made under the same conditions, as well as market measures and the special POSEI program for the Canary Islands. With regard to rural development programs, it will be allowed to extend measures of the current plans.
The budgetary amounts proposed by the European Commission (EC) in the transition regulations are not final, as they will be those approved by the Council, with the favorable opinion of the European Parliament, in the negotiations of the Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027.
Towards a climate neutral EU
In relation to the CAP reform package, the minister has reported on the intention of the Finnish Presidency of the European Union to focus next Monday's debate on aspects related to environmental architecture and the new application model.
In this regard, the Presidency has stressed the commitment of the Heads of State and Government, at the last June summit, to move towards a climate-neutral European Union. All policies, including the CAP, must contribute to this commitment.
Spain shares this greater environmental ambition, for which it considers it necessary to obtain adequate financing from the CAP. The minister has also specified that there is still room for the flexibility of certain measures and their simplification.