36 Amendments of James NICHOLSON related to 2018/0216(COD)
Amendment 456 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 1
Recital 1
(1) The Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions entitled ‘The Future of Food and Farming’ of 29 November 2017 sets out the challenges, objectives and orientations for the future Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) after 2020. These objectives include, inter alia, the need for the CAP to be more result-driven, to boost modernisation and sustainability, including the economic, social, environmental and climate sustainability of the agricultural, forestry and rural areas, and to help reducing the Union legislation- related administrative burden for beneficiaries. The new CAP should ensure genuine simplification at national, regional and farm level.
Amendment 476 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 2
Recital 2
(2) Since the CAP needs to sharpen its responses to the challenges and opportunities as they manifest themselves at Union, international, national, regional, local and farm levels, it is necessary to streamline the governance of the CAP and improve its delivery on the Union objectives and to significantly decrease the administrative burden for farmers. In the CAP based on delivery of performance (‘delivery model’), the Union should set the basic policy parameters, such as objectives of the CAP and basic requirements, while Member States should bear greater responsibility as to how they meet the objectives and achieve targets, whilst ensuring policy certainty and financial security for the sector. Enhanced subsidiarity makes it possible to better take into account local conditions and needs, tailoring the support to maximise the contribution to Union objectives.
Amendment 494 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5
Recital 5
(5) In order to retain the essential Union-wide elements to ensure comparability between Member State decisions, without however limiting Member States in reaching Union objectives, a framework definition for ‘agricultural area’ should be set out. The related framework definitions for ‘arable land’, ‘permanent crops’ and ‘permanent grassland’ should be set out in a broad way to allow Member States to further specify definitions according to their local conditions. The framework definition for ‘arable land’ should be laid down in a way that allows Member States to cover different production forms, including system such as agroforestry and arable areas with shrubs and trees and that requires the inclusion of fallow land areas in order to ensure the decoupled nature of the interventions. The framework definition of ‘permanent crops’ should include both areas actually used for production and not, as well as nurseries and short rotation coppice to be defined by Member States. The framework definition of ‘permanent grassland’ should be set in a way that allows Member States to specify further criteria and allows them to include species other than grasses or other herbaceous forage that can be grazed or that may produce animal feed, whether used for actual production or not. The goal to simplify the CAP should be central to ensure there is no additional burden on farmers.
Amendment 526 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 9
Recital 9
(9) In view of further improving the performance of the CAP, income support should be targeted to genuine farmers. In order to ensure a common approach at Union level for such a targeting of support, a framework definition for ‘genuine farmer’ displaying the essential elements should be set out. On the basis of this framework, Member States should define in their CAP Strategic Plans which farmers are not considered genuine farmers based on conditions such as income tests, labour inputs on the farm, company object and inclusion in registers. It should also not result in precluding support to pluri-active farmers, who are actively farming but who are also engaged in non-agricultural activities outside their farm, as their multiple activities often strengthen the socio- economic fabric of rural areas.
Amendment 559 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12
Recital 12
(12) A smarter, modernised and more sustainable CAP needs to embrace research and innovation, in order to serve the multi- functionality of Union agriculture, forestry and food systems, adequately investing in technological development and digitalisation, given the relatively low uptake of new technologies in farming, as well as improving the access to impartial, sound, relevant and new knowledge.
Amendment 579 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 14
Recital 14
(14) In order to foster a smart and resilient agricultural sector, direct payments keep on constituting an essential part to guarantee a fair income support to farmers. Likewise, given the current investment gap, investments into farm restructuring, modernisation, innovation, diversification and uptake of new technologies are necessary to improve farmers’ market reward.
Amendment 607 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 16 – point 1
Recital 16 – point 1
As many rural areas in the Union suffer from structural problems such as lack of attractive employment opportunities, skill shortages, underinvestment in connectivity, particularly quality broadband, infrastructures and essential services, as well as youth drain, it is fundamental to strengthen the socio-economic fabric in those areas, in line with the Cork 2.0. Declaration, particularly through job creation and generational renewal, by bringing the Commission's jobs and growth to rural areas, promoting social inclusion, generational renewal and the development of ‘Smart Villages’ across the European countryside. As indicated in the Communication on ‘The Future of Food and Farming’, new rural value chains such as renewable energy, the emerging bio- economy, the circular economy, and ecotourism can offer good growth and job potential for rural areas. In this context, financial instruments and the use of the InvestEU guarantee can play a crucial role for ensuring access to financing and for bolstering the growth capacity of farms and enterprises. There is a potential for employment opportunities in rural areas for legally staying third country nationals, promoting their social and economic integration especially in the framework of Community-led Local Development strategies.
Amendment 664 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 24
Recital 24
(24) Member States should set farm advisory services for the purpose of improving the sustainable management and overall performance of agricultural holdings and rural businesses, covering economic, environmental and social dimensions, and to identify the necessary improvements as regards all measures at farm level provided for in the CAP Strategic Plans. These farm advisory services should help farmers and other beneficiaries of CAP support to become more aware of the relationship between farm management and land management on the one hand, and certain standards, requirements and information, including environmental and climate ones, on the other hand. The list of the latter includes standards applying to or necessary for farmers and other CAP beneficiaries and set in the CAP Strategic Plan, as well as those stemming from the legislation on water, on the sustainable use of pesticides, as well as the initiatives to combat antimicrobial resistance and the management of risks. In order to enhance the quality and effectiveness of the advice, Member States should build on existing innovative systems and then integrate advisors within the Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS), in order to be able to deliver up- to-date technological and scientific information developed by research and innovation.
Amendment 687 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 25
Recital 25
(25) In order to ensure a fairer distribution of income support, the amounts of direct payments above a certain ceiling should be reduced and the product should either be used for decoupled direct payments and in priority for the complementary redistributive income support for sustainability, or be transferred to the EAFRD. In order to avoid negative effects on employment, labour and individual farm needs should be taken into account when applying the mechanism.
Amendment 693 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 25 a (new)
Recital 25 a (new)
(25 a) Direct payments are crucial in supporting farmers in food production and the protection of environmental and animal welfare standards.
Amendment 946 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 52
Recital 52
(52) Reflecting the importance of tackling climate change and safeguarding food production in line with the Union's commitments to implement the Paris Agreement and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, this Program will contribute to mainstream climate action in the Union's policies and to the achievement of an overall target of 25% of the EU budget expenditures supporting climate objectives. Actions under the CAP are expected to contribute 40 % of the overall financial envelope of the CAP to climate objectives. Relevant actions will be identified during the Program's preparation and implementation, and reassessed in the context of the relevant evaluations and review processes.
Amendment 969 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 55 a (new)
Recital 55 a (new)
(55 a) It is imperative that the CAP Strategic Plans have a clear, simple and unambiguous framework in order to avoid gold plating of policy at the National, regional or local level
Amendment 971 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 56
Recital 56
(56) In the process of development of their CAP Strategic Plans, Member States should analyse their specific situation and needs, set targets linked to the achievement of the objectives of the CAP and design the interventions which will allow reaching these targets, while being adapted to the national and specific regional contexts, including the outermost regions pursuant to Article 349 TFEU. Such process should promote more subsidiarity within a common Union framework, while compliance with the general principles of Union law and the objectives of the CAP should be ensured. It is therefore appropriate to set rules on the structure and content of the CAP Strategic Plans. During the development of the CAP Strategic Plans farmers and farming organisations should be involved throughout all stages of the process.
Amendment 981 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 57
Recital 57
(57) In order to ensure that the setting of targets by Member States and that the design of interventions is appropriate and maximises the contribution to the objectives of the CAP, it is necessary to base the strategy of the CAP Strategic Plans on a prior analysis of the local contexts and an assessment of needs in relation to the objectives of the CAP. The CAP Strategic Plans must ensure flexibility for Member States which may face changes in conditions, both internally and externally.
Amendment 1016 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 64
Recital 64
(64) In view of the concerns related to administrative burden under shared management, simplification at national, regional and farm level, should also be subject to a specific attention in the CAP Strategic Plan.
Amendment 1025 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 67
Recital 67
(67) The approval of the CAP Strategic Plan by the Commission is a crucial step in order to guarantee that the policy is implemented according to the common objectives and thus the approval process must be as efficient as possible. In accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, the Commission should provide the Member States with appropriate guidance in presenting coherent and ambitious intervention logics.
Amendment 1038 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 73
Recital 73
(73) Each CAP Strategic Plan should be subject to regular monitoring of the implementation and of progress towards the established targets. Such a performance, monitoring and evaluation framework of the CAP should be set up with the purpose of demonstrating the progress and assessing the impact and efficiency of policy implementation. Whilst ensuring that no unnecessary administrative burden is felt at national, regional or farm level.
Amendment 1053 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 76
Recital 76
(76) Mechanisms should be in place to take action to protect the Union’s financial interests in case the CAP Strategic Plan implementation deviates significantly from the targets set. Member States may thus be asked to submit action plans in case of significant and non-justified underperformance. This could lead to suspensions and, in the end, reductions of the Union funds if the planned results are not achieved. Moreover, an overall performance bonus is established as part of the incentive mechanism based on allocating the performance bonus, in view of encouraging good environmental and climate performances.
Amendment 1067 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 87
Recital 87
(87) In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Regulation and to avoid unfair competition or discrimination between farmers, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission as regards the fixing of reference areas for the support for oilseeds, rules for the authorisation of land and varieties for the purposes of the crop- specific payment for cotton and related notifications, the calculation of the reduction where the eligible area of cotton exceeds the base area, the Union financial assistance for distillation of by-products of wine-making, the annual breakdown by Member State of the total amount of Union support for types of interventions for rural development, rules on the presentation of the elements to be included in the CAP Strategic Plan, rules on the procedure and time limits for the approval of CAP Strategic Plans and the submission and approval of requests for amendment of CAP Strategic Plans, uniform conditions for the application of the information and publicity requirements relating to the possibilities offered by the CAP Strategic Plans, rules relating to the performance, monitoring and evaluation framework, rules for the presentation of the content of the annual performance report, rules on the information to be sent by the Member States for the performance assessment by the Commission and rules on the data needs and synergies between potential data sources, and arrangements to ensure a consistent approach for determining the attribution of the performance bonus to Member States. Those powers should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council.22 _________________ 22 Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 laying down the rules and general principles concerning mechanisms for control by the Member States of the Commission's exercise of implementing powers (OJ L 55, 28.2.2011, p. 13).
Amendment 1389 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point c
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point c
(c) improve the farmers' position in the value chains;
Amendment 1679 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 2
Article 12 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 2
The Commission may support the Member States with the design of that Tool and with data storage and processing services requirements. The Commission shall provide an adequate transition period to allow for the efficient use and implementation of that Tool.
Amendment 1704 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 13 – paragraph 1
Article 13 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall include in the CAP Strategic Plan a system providing services for advising farmers and other beneficiaries of CAP support on land management and farm management ('farm advisory services'). This new system should build upon any already existing systems at Member State level.
Amendment 2372 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 28 – paragraph 4 a (new)
Article 28 – paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Eco-schemes should be tailored to address specific regional needs for the environment and climate which can be set out in the CAP Strategic Plan.
Amendment 4522 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 106 a (new)
Article 106 a (new)
Article 106 a Timely payment to beneficiaries The Approval of the CAP Strategic Plan by the European Commission and its implementation by Member States shall not cause any delays in any distribution of aid to beneficiaries, especially in its first year of implementation
Amendment 4659 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 113 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 113 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. The Common Agricultural Policy Network should build upon already existing networking structures available in Member States.
Amendment 4809 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 123
Article 123
Amendment 4821 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 123 – paragraph 1
Article 123 – paragraph 1
Amendment 4825 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 123 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
Article 123 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
Amendment 4828 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 123 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2
Article 123 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2
Amendment 4842 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 124
Article 124
Attribution of the performance bonus 1. of the year 2026, the performance bonus withheld from a Member State’s allocation following the second paragraph of Article 123 shall be attributed to this Member State if the result indicators applied to the specific environmental- and climate-related objectives set out in points (d), (e) and (f) of Article 6(1) in its CAP Strategic Plan have achieved at least 90% of their target value for the year 2025. 2. months of the receipt of the annual performance report in the year 2026 adopt an implementing act without applying the Committee procedure referred to in Article 139 to decide for each Member State whether the respective CAP Strategic Plans have achieved the target values referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article. 3. in paragraph 1 are achieved, the amount of the performance bonus shall be granted by the Commission to the Member States concerned and considered to be definitely allocated to financial year 2027 on the basis of the decision referred to in paragraph 2. 4. in paragraph 1 are not achieved, the commitments for financial year 2027 relating to the amount of the performance bonus of the Member States concerned shall not be granted by the Commission. 5. When attributing the performance bonus, the Commission may take into consideration cases of force majeure and serious socio-economic crises impeding the achievement of the relevant milestones. 6. implementing acts laying down the detailed arrangements to ensure a consistent approach for determining the attribution of the performance bonus to Member States. Those implementing actsrticle 124 deleted Based on the performance review The Commission shall within two Where the target values referred to Where the target values referred to The Commission shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 139(2).
Amendment 4847 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 124 – paragraph 1
Article 124 – paragraph 1
Amendment 4852 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 124 – paragraph 2
Article 124 – paragraph 2
Amendment 4853 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 124 – paragraph 3
Article 124 – paragraph 3
Amendment 4856 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 124 – paragraph 4
Article 124 – paragraph 4
Amendment 4860 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 124 – paragraph 5
Article 124 – paragraph 5
Amendment 4863 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 124 – paragraph 6
Article 124 – paragraph 6