The CAP today ! – Group III meeting, March thematic session

On 20 March, two speakers took the floor with our Members during the thematic session on the CAP.

Mr Ricard Ramon I Sumoy, Deputy Head of Unit C.1. Policy Perspectives (Directorate C – Strategy, simplification and policy analysis – DG AGRI), delivered a presentation on the CAP - present and future aspects.

 The CAP is a success story of the EU. We talk about a sector that manages 48% of the EU land and that produces food for 500 million consumers. Because of its importance, the CAP needs to continue to be a strong policy and a policy open to the whole society. Not only the farming community. Other players should have a say on the future of this policy. 

In his intervention, he mainly dealt with distribution of EU direct support to farmers, the 2021-2027 Budget and the future of CAP priorities.

 The CAP is much more than money. It also implies rules, commitment in order to align with the demands of society. 

He added that the SDGs will be key elements for the CAP and that new technologies should simplify the policy.

Mr Paulo Gouveia, Chief Policy Advisor at Copa-Cogeca, presented the state of play with the CAP post-2020.

He emphasised two main aspects:

• The CAP is relevant. We should not forget the budget and the next MFF play a role in this.
• Quality has to prevail over speed. Time should be taken to reach the right decisions. 

 There are many challenges ahead of us: the outcome of the next European elections, the renewal of EU institutions, how, when and where and in what way the reports from the Committee of Agriculture and Rural Development of the Parliament will be taken over by the others and when a decision on the budget will take place. 

The speaker also underlined, amongst other things, the need for a strong definition of genuine farmers, and voluntary capping accompanied by voluntary redistributive payments.