28 Amendments of Bronis ROPĖ related to 2015/2226(INI)
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas, in many European countries over the past few decades, the number of farmers in rural areas has drastically decreased, as have incomes of farmers and other agricultural workers, and employment in those areas has continued to decline;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)
Recital G a (new)
Ga. whereas the payment system that currently exists in the food supply chain does not guarantee the sustainable distribution of added value, and it often determines that the earnings of primary producers are not even sufficient to cover their costs;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G b (new)
Recital G b (new)
Gb. whereas compared with urban areas, rural areas are usually characterised by statistically higher levels of unemployment and significantly lower residents' incomes, as well as less attractive infrastructure and less access to services, the costs of providing which are significant due to lower population density and accessibility;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)
Recital J a (new)
Ja. whereas the current structure of the CAP has helped ensure that a significant proportion of recipients of CAP direct payments now receive those payments without undertaking agricultural activities, but simply due to the fact that they own agricultural land;
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Notes that there is a wide disparity in average payments per hectare in different Member States, from 418 EUR per hectare in the Netherlands to 159 EUR per hectare in Latvia; takes the view that such an unequal distribution is neither objective nor just, and denies Member States with lower levels of payments the opportunity to invest to create jobs; believes that the small redistribution of direct payments in the last CAP reform was far from adequate in correcting the situation; demands that future CAP reforms complete the process of creating a genuine Common Agricultural Policy by eliminating differences between Member States in payments per hectare and urges to start working on this equalization already as a part of mid-term review of current CAP;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Notes that the vast majority of CAP direct payments are going to the richest farms, with just 13% of beneficiaries receiving 74% of CAP direct payment expenditures in 2014; believes that this does not assist job creation in farming, as small farms are more labour- intensive and 53% of farm labourers are working on a farm classified as of small economic size; calls for a better distribution of CAP payments towards small farmers;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Encourages the Member States to step up their support for small and medium-sized farms, in particular by making more use of the redistributive payment, and to introduce a ceiling on aid of EUR 1500 000 across the board;
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Draws attention to the fact that people who wish to take up farming or to expand the agricultural land under their ownership are currently facing difficulties in finding free land; calls, therefore, for the establishment of a land bank – a system for providing information on unused land or land that could be used for agriculture, for managing land and for reporting on it – whose services young farmers and women would have the preferential right to use;
Amendment 157 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls on the Member States and their regions to shift the focus of their rural policy to job creation, and calls on the Commission to assist them in achieving that objective; stresses the potential of local and regional authorities – as the level of government most familiar with the challenges and opportunities of a particular area – in achieving that objective; calls on the Member States to take advantage of those opportunities, first of all by strengthening the legal powers and financial capabilities of local and regional authorities to contribute to job creation;
Amendment 174 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Calls for the establishment of binding rules on fair payment in the food supply chain between food producers, wholesalers and processors to ensure that farmers receive an appropriate share of the value added sufficient to enable them to practice sustainable farming;
Amendment 186 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Emphasises that the CAP must have sufficient funding to play an effective long- term role in fostering employment, promoting the sustainable development of agriculture and ensuring that rural areas retain their appeal (with a focus on quality of life and on reducing social exclusion among rural inhabitants) in comparison with urban areas;
Amendment 205 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Calls on the Commission to clearly redefine and propose a European agricultural model that makes retaining territory-based jobs a priority, as well as the production of high quality food and non-food products;
Amendment 225 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 – point 1 (new)
Paragraph 12 – point 1 (new)
(1) Points out that CAP direct payments should only be allocated to persons whose main area of activity is agriculture;
Amendment 239 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Emphasises that it is important that the CAP should provide funding for the positive effects that agriculture brings in terms of jobs and the environment, and that it should provide more effective support for organic farming and all other sustainable production methods in the context of agroecology, which will entail moving beyond current cross-compliance standards and agri-environmental and climate measures;
Amendment 242 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Highlights the potential of sustainable farming and food systems, especially organic farming, as well as sustainable management of soil, water, biodiversity and rural infrastructure to preserve and create decent employment in farming and thriving rural economies;
Amendment 253 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Expresses concern at the potential negative employment impact on agriculture of the trade deals currently being negotiated or scoped by the Commission with Canada, the United States, MERCOSUR and Australia/New Zealand, with a potentially high cumulative impact on farm incomes due to significant quantities of meat entering the EU market; notes that the Joint Research Centre's MERCOSUR impact assessment estimated a 7.75 billion EUR loss for European agriculture, with the beef sector taking the brunt; believes that free trade agreements should not lead to unfair competition towards small and medium sized farms and undermine local economies and jobs;
Amendment 262 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Emphasises that, against a backdrop of deep uncertainty as regards the future of low, volatile agricultural prices, the EU must do more to influence the markets by establishing safety nets and prevention and crisis management systems that could, for example, draw on countercyclical aid, allowing farmers to benefit from more advantageous prices and involving the farmers themselves in the financing of risk management systems;
Amendment 267 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Emphasises that, against a backdrop of deep uncertainty as regards the future of currently low, volatile agricultural prices, the EU must do more to influence the markets by establishing safety nets and prevention and crisis management systems that could, for example, draw on countercyclical aid, allowing farmers to benefit from more advantageous prices;
Amendment 272 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Feels that, since there are significant differences in the levels of cooperation between farmers in individual Member States and since a lack of cooperation adversely affects farmers' ability to resist crisis situations and market pressures, the CAP should comprehensively promote the development of farmers' cooperation, particularly in the production and processing sectors;
Amendment 283 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Expresses its firm belief that it will be necessary even in the future to promote continuing vocational training for farmers and agricultural workers and to make sure that scientific knowledge and innovations are disseminated, thus ensuring adaptability to the changing environment and making it easier to engage in economic activity;
Amendment 287 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Takes the view that bottom-up approaches to local development such as LEADER/CLLD have proven to be effective and that they should be further strengthened and implemented in all Member States by means of multi-fund approachby making it possible to combine resources from several funds and by strengthening the role of local and regional authorities;
Amendment 296 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Calls for investment provided under the rural development policy to be prioritised with a focus on jobs, the unemployment rate and change trends for these indicators;
Amendment 304 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 – point 1 (new)
Paragraph 19 – point 1 (new)
(1) Draws attention to the need for additional support for agriculture and the creation of agricultural jobs in less favoured areas and in the EU's external border areas;
Amendment 306 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Believes that the Commission and Member States should incentivise farmers through the CAP and other policies to diversify their sources of income thus insulating themselves from down turns in the market; considers that such diversification could include eco-tourism, the development of renewable energies such as wind and solar, adding value to agricultural produce through processing, and farm shops;
Amendment 314 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Calls on the Member States to make significant progress towards top- down social harmonisation of the agricultural workforce, thereby minimising the damage done by internal social dumping, which undermines jobs; believes that strong regulations are essential to improve the conditions of labour and quality of work for agricultural workers, and calls for adequate minimum wages for farm workers and regulated working conditions which ensure safety and avoid exploitation on issues like excessive hours worked;
Amendment 318 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)
Paragraph 20 a (new)
Amendment 321 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Takes the view that it is vital to ensure that public and private services are in place to make it possible to maintain and develop employment in rural areas; believes that people in rural areas have a right to equal access to quality public services like education, social and health care; considers it essential that all - local, regional (where it exist) and local tiers of governmental as well as private sector work together to ensure that rural and remote areas are not deprived of equal access to essential infrastructure such as public and private transport links, a secure supply of energy and reliable and fast broadband technology - without which rural enterprises and households will be at a permanent disadvantage, and migration to urban areas will continue;
Amendment 327 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Believes that people in rural areas have a right to equal access to quality public services like education and health care; considers it essential that all governmental and private authorities work together to ensure that rural and remote areas are not deprived of equal access to essential infrastructure such as public and private transport links, a secure supply of energy and reliable and fast broadband technology - without which rural enterprises and households will be at a permanent disadvantage, and migration to urban areas will continue;