The negotiation now moves into the trilogue phase 

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On 15 May the European Parliament Plenary approved the draft text on the extension of the current Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) rules – set to expire at the end of 2020 – by one year, with an automatic extension of another year in case the EU’s budget (MFF) and Future CAP are not agreed by 30 October 2020.

The move, based on the AGRI Committee decision of 28 April (see here for more details) kicked off the negotiation phase between EU Parliament, Council and Commission. The negotiating teams already had their first meeting on 20 May.

The Parliament will insist on a flexible transition period to last for up to two years and reject any cuts in the CAP budget.

CEMA welcomes this stance, which will provide a solid legal framework and ensure certainty and continuity to EU farmers, allowing them to retain their investment capability in modern farm equipment. 

It remains to be seen if the new MFF proposals released by the European Commission this week will accelerate the discussions on the CAP, and minimize the need for the transition measures.

 

An overview of the Transitional Provisions proposal for the post-2020 can be read here, in a document issued by the European Parliamentary Research Service.