The EU Agriculture Ministers will talk about the future of the CAP at the Informal Agriculture and Fisheries Council on 31 May -1 June 2009. The main topic on the agenda is the direct payment scheme. The discussion on the various aspects of the CAP will certainly continue after the meeting.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has prepared a statement on its views on the future of the CAP after 2013. According to this, an efficient agricultural policy, which is consistent as regards its financing and content and takes account of the differences between regions, will also be needed in the future.

The Ministry considers that among the main objectives of the CAP must be to preserve the European model of diversified agriculture and to promote agricultural production in all regions of the EU. This will be even more important in the future as the border protection of the EU is being lowered and competition from third countries is growing on the internal market.

The current structure of funding, where the financing for agriculture and that for rural development constitute two distinct elements, should be maintained. The first element should continue to comprise the single payment scheme and market support funded in full by the EU, while the co-funded rural development measures should constitute the second element.

The decoupled single payments should stay the main rule for the direct payments under the CAP. In the peripheral and weak regions of the EU, however, these need to be supplemented by coupled support. Without this the production might stop completely or there is a risk of growing monoculture.

It is also important that in the context of the reform of the natural handicap payments the less-favoured areas and level of payments are determined on the basis of the natural handicap without establishing any ceilings for the support. The encouraging elements of the agri-environment payments must be preserved and the payments must be targeted even more carefully. Key priorities include water protection, reducing nutrient loading in marine areas, mitigating climate change and maintaining biodiversity.

Besides the EU measures, the application of national aids which do not disturb the internal market and contribute to maintaining farming in all regions of the EU must continue to be allowed in the future.

Further information at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry:
Jouni Lind, State Secretary, tel. +358 (0)50 521 3305
Matti Hannula, Agricultural Counsellor, tel. +358 (0)40 760 5954

The publication on the views of the Ministry is available on the Internet at www.mmm.fi/en/index/Publications/Brochures.html