Proposal for a Regulation laying down certain transitional provisions for the support by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and by the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) in the year 2021

Summary:

Proposal presented on 31 October 2019 by the European Commission aiming at providing certainty and continuity in the granting of support to European farmers and ensuring the continuity of support for rural development in the transition to the next CAP period.

Further information:

The Commission’s reform proposals on the common agricultural policy (CAP) beyond 2020 provide that the Member States start to implement their Strategic Plans as from 1 January 2021. This would imply that Member States submit their Strategic Plans at the latest by 1 January 2020 and that the Commission approves these plans in the course of the year.

In view of the present state of play in both the Parliament and the Council, it is clear that the basic acts and the ensuing delegated and implementing acts will not be formally adopted by January 2020 and that, therefore, it will be necessary to plan for a transitional period.

Regulations (EU) No 1305/2013, 1306/2013, 1307/2013 and 1308/2013 are formally not limited in time and, therefore, will continue to apply until they are repealed. However, the Direct Payments Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 and the Rural Development Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 do not contain the amount of Union support or national ceilings for the years after 2020.

This is also true for Regulation (EU) No 228/2013 on specific measures for agriculture in the outermost regions of the Union and Regulation (EU) No 229/2013 on specific measures for agriculture in favour of the smaller Aegean islands. These Regulations will therefore need to be amended to include the relevant amounts/ceilings, when they are decided for the new MFF 2021-2027.

The Council of the European Union adopted its general approach to this draft law on 6 April 2020. The plenary of the European Parliament approved its position on 15 April. A partial informal agreement between the co-legislators on a compromise text for the proposal was reached on 30 June. Following the deal on the financial aspects of the MFF 2021-2027, the full agreement on these transitional provisions was reached on 27 November.

• Primary Source

Commentary and Analysis

EPRS: Briefing, April 2020: Transitional provisions for the CAP post 2020 https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document.html?reference=EPRS_BRI(2020)649383

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News

EurActiv, 23/01/2020: Croatian farm minister: Getting transitional CAP done by mid-2020 on presidency’s radar https://www.euractiv.com/section/agriculture-food/interview/croatian-farm-minister-getting-transitional-cap-done-by-mid-2020-on-presidencys-radar/

EurActiv, 19/03/2020: Transitional CAP puts back bloc’s ‘green’ ambition in farming, warn auditors https://www.euractiv.com/section/agriculture-food/news/transitional-cap-puts-back-blocs-green-ambition-in-farming-warn-auditors/

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Official

European Parliament: Legislative Observatory: Procedure File for Proposal on transitional provisions for the support by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and by the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) in the year 2021 https://oeil.secure.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/ficheprocedure.do?lang=en&reference=2019/0254(COD)

European Parliament: Legislative Train Schedule: Transitional Provisions for the Support by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and by the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) in the Year 2021 https://www.europarl.europa.eu/legislative-train/theme-a-european-green-deal/file-cap-transitional-provisions/10-2020

Council of the European Union: Press Release, 30/06/2020: Extension of current CAP rules until the end of 2022: informal deal on transitional regulation https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2020/06/30/extension-of-current-cap-rules-until-the-end-of-2022-informal-deal-on-transitional-regulation/

European Commission: Press Release, 27/11/2020: Commission welcomes the political agreement on the transitional rules for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_20_2236

Council of the European Union: Press Release, 27/11/2020: CAP transitional regulation: informal deal on how to fund farmers https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2020/11/27/cap-transitional-regulation-informal-deal-on-how-to-fund-farmers/

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