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25 June 2013 | By Alistair Driver EU POLICYMAKERS have endorsed plans that would give member states the option of using national certification schemes to qualify for the greening payment under the reformed Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The EU Council of Agriculture Ministers is into its second day of talks in Luxembourg, where it has been joined by MEPs from the Agriculture Committee and Agriculture Commissioner Dacian Ciolos. Details of issues that have been provisionally agreed by the decision-makers in the process – the EU Council of Ministers and the EU Parliament’s Agriculture Committee – are emerging as the talks move towards a possible conclusion on Wednesday. Among the issues already ‘cleared’ in trilogue talks between the parties is confirmation that the UK and other member states and regions will be able to establish certification schemes as the basis for qualifying for the 30 per cent greening payment. Defra Secretary Owen Paterson has already made it clear he wants to establish am English Certification for this purpose. These schemes will include environmental measures beyond the three broad measures originally proposed by the European Commission. A key element will be ensuring ‘equivalence’ in these measures across the EU. The NFU’s CAP adviser Gail Soutar, commenting from Brussels, said this flexibility could be a ‘double-edged sword’ for English farmers. While they will benefit from the flexibility in how to comply with greening, they could face tougher environmental than their counterparts. In an Irish presidency document outlining areas where provisional agreement has been reached, further details surrounding the three basic greening requirements are unveiled. · Permanent grassland ratio can be applied at national, regional or farm level. · The minimum area threshold where there will be no Ecological Focus Area is 15 hectares of arable land. · The percentage will start at 5 per cent in 2015, then move to 7 per cent only after a  Commission report in 2017 and subject to a legislative proposal. · Permanent crops are now excluded from EFA . EFA applies to arable land only. · The following EFA eligible areas are agreed: Fallow land, terraces, landscape features, buffer strips, agro forestry, afforested lands, strips of eligible hectares along forest edges, catch crops, nitrogen-fixing crops and short rotation coppice (with no use of mineral fertiliser or plant protection products). · Exemption for holdings where more than 75 per cent of the holding is in grassland (permanent or temporary), or covered by crops under water, or a combination of both, subject to a maximum for the remaining land of 30 hectares. · Exemptions also for holdings where more than 75 per cent of the arable land is temporary grassland, fallow, leguminous crops, or a combination of these, subject to a maximum for the remaining land of 30 hectares. · EFA percentage decreased by 50 per cent where a MS implements a measure at regional level, which yields an equivalent or higher benefit to the climate and the environment. In other measures provisionally agreed, member states and regions will be given scope to retain coupled subsidies. Under a three-tier system: · All Member States will be permitted a level of 8 per e coupling, plus 2 per cent for protein crops. · Member States who used more than 5 per cent coupled aid in one year in the period 2010-2014 permitted a level of 13 per cent, plus 2 per cent for protein crops. · Member States who used more than 10 per cent in one year in the 2010-2014period may decide to use more than 13 per cent upon approval by the Commission. MEPs and Ministers have also provisionally agreed to give member states and regions more flexibility on how they move towards area payments, something that is likely to be welcomed in Scotland and Wales. Member states and regions will be required to ensure all farmers receive at least 60 per cent of the average payment per hectare by 2019.   The active farmer, young farmer and small farmers have been provisionally agreed, as follows: Active Farmer: Short mandatory negative list agreed to determine who is not eligible for support, comprising airports, railway services, water works, real estate services, and permanent sports and recreational grounds. Young Farmer: Mandatory scheme agreed in Pillar 1, using up to 2 per cent of direct payment pot. Small Farmer : Optional scheme, with a maximum payment of €1,250, using up to 10 per cent of the direct payment pot. The outcome on all of these provisional agreements still had to be confirmed by the Council of Ministers on Tuesday afternoon the Parliament’s Agriculture Committee on Wednesday. As of Tuesday afternoon, there were still a number of outstanding issues to be resolved, including the milk package, the sugar regime, including when quotas will be removed and ‘legal alignment’ – who holds powers in Brussels to make key decisions under the reformed CAP. Continue reading →