BETA

Activities of Pär HOLMGREN related to 2020/2140(DEC)

Shadow opinions (1)

OPINION on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2019, Section III – Commission and executive agencies
2021/02/25
Committee: AGRI
Dossiers: 2020/2140(DEC)
Documents: PDF(136 KB) DOC(68 KB)
Authors: [{'name': 'Giuseppe MILAZZO', 'mepid': 197824}]

Amendments (14)

Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
4. Considers that simplification for final beneficiaries, in particular for young and newufficient and accessible support to young farmers, new entrants and small farmers from the CAP is essential; stresses that investments to develop short supply chains and direct sales to consumers, particularly via investments made by young farmers, new entrants and small farmers, should be a priority for Member States when carrying out their strategic planning;
2021/01/12
Committee: AGRI
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Recalls that one of the main objectives of the CAP is to provide income stability to farmers and support for the maintenance and creation of jobs across the Union territory; finds that in less developed rural areas, contrary to its main objectives, the CAP is primarily supporting big landowners, with less support going to smaller farmers working the land;
2021/01/12
Committee: AGRI
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4 b. Highlights the Court of Auditors' conclusions in its special report No 10/2018 that the Basic Payment Scheme has had a limited impact on internal convergence in aid levels; recalls the commitment of the Member States to achieve equalisation of payments across the Union by 2013, first noted in the European Council's Presidency Conclusions of 24-25 October 2002, and now overdue by several years;
2021/01/12
Committee: AGRI
Amendment 31 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
5. Reiterates the importance of harnessing all possible measures to safeguard the CAP budget against fraud; recalls that both the Commission and the Member States are responsible for addressing fraud in CAP spending; encourages them to step up their efforts to prevent and detect fraud, in cooperation with the anti-fraud office (OLAF);
2021/01/12
Committee: AGRI
Amendment 33 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Notes, with concern, that some Member States' authorities are systematically reporting no fraud or irregularities, which casts doubt over the reliability and independence of the controls carried out by those authorities; notes that neither the Commission nor OLAF assessed Member States’ measures to prevent and fight fraud in CAP spending, and encourages them to step up their efforts in doing so;
2021/01/12
Committee: AGRI
Amendment 37 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5 b. Notes, with concern, that the Commission has not updated its analysis of CAP fraud risk since 2016; encourages the Commission to update its analysis more frequently, particularly in view of the new CAP, as well as recent market measures implemented in response to COVID-19; recalls in that respect that the 2019 Report on the Protection of the EU’s Financial Interests (PIF report) identified market measures as the area presenting highest risk of fraud, including high value fraud;
2021/01/12
Committee: AGRI
Amendment 41 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 c (new)
5 c. Welcomes the Commission's launch of the Arachne pilot project to identify risks of fraud; notes that as of March 2020 only 12 paying agencies in nine Member States were participating in the Arachne pilot project; supports the Commission proposal to make the use of that tool mandatory and encourages the Commission to disseminate best practices in the use of Arachne to facilitate its use by paying agencies;
2021/01/12
Committee: AGRI
Amendment 43 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 d (new)
5 d. Stresses that CAP payments must benefit those working the land and also the farming community; stresses that Union agriculture is best served when funding encourages ownership for those active in agricultural production and ecosystem services; calls on the Commission to make use of and combine the systems and databases at its disposal in order to identify and ensure transparency on the ultimate beneficial owners, in case of agricultural holdings which form part of a larger corporate structure, in order to better distinguish the final destination of CAP funds; notes that the artificial creation of conditions for receiving support continues to be a common type of fraud, as highlighted and reiterated respectively in the 2017 and 2019 reports on the Protection of the EU’s Financial Interests;
2021/01/12
Committee: AGRI
Amendment 44 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 e (new)
5 e. Recalls that one of the main objectives of the CAP is sustainable management of natural resources, climate action and biodiversity; is concerned that the current CAP regime is not supporting the Union in achieving the targets of Paris Agreement, the European Green Deal and its strategies; calls on the Commission to propose amendments to the CAP proposals currently under negotiation to bring the next reform in line with the European Green Deal and to spell out the achievement of the relevant European Green Deal targets as one the CAP's objectives;
2021/01/12
Committee: AGRI
Amendment 45 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 f (new)
5 f. Notes that a greener CAP, in line with the Paris Agreement and the European Green Deal, would not only support the Union in achieving its targets, but also increase efficiency in the use of public money, by limiting the negative externalities linked to agricultural practices and shifting focus to prevention rather than cure;
2021/01/12
Committee: AGRI
Amendment 46 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 g (new)
5 g. Regrets that there have been, as yet, no reliable indicators measuring the results and impacts of direct payment schemes and rural development programmes in relation to biodiversity in the Commission's tracking of CAP spending; highlights that, in tracking climate expenditure under the CAP, the margin of approximation is very high and tends to overestimate the likely significance of the contribution of the CAP instrument or measure to climate mitigation and adaptation objectives; emphasises that the Commission must develop reliable biodiversity and climate indicators to assess the impacts of the CAP, in order to develop more effective CAP payment schemes and instruments; stresses that, if the proposed shift to a performance-based CAP is to be achieved, it will require the development of a comprehensive set of common result indicators and the thorough application of those indicators;
2021/01/12
Committee: AGRI
Amendment 47 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 h (new)
5 h. Regrets the fact that the Commission and the Member States have not yet introduced the full scope of the Performance Principle that includes the Economy, Efficiency, Effectiveness but recently also Ecology, Equality and Ethics to the policy-making of CAP; finds this to be necessary in order to better address problems such as pollution, payment inequalities to smaller farms and challenges such as gender mainstreaming; calls on the Commission to widen the scope of the Union goals that the CAP should be achieving;
2021/01/12
Committee: AGRI
Amendment 48 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 i (new)
5 i. Calls on the Commission to continue to closely monitor ongoing and future trade agreements with third countries with respect to food safety and environmental and animal welfare standards; urges the Commission to make sure that there is a strong sustainability chapter in all trade agreements and that trade partners comply fully with requirements provided for therein; notes the need for a level playing field also in terms of environmental standards and animal welfare, and calls on the Commission to further develop legislation on due diligence in the supply chain to ensure that standards in Union agriculture are not undermined or compromised;
2021/01/12
Committee: AGRI
Amendment 49 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 j (new)
5 j. Urges the Commission to be extra vigilant on rule of law matters as regards CAP funds; reiterates the call for a special report by the Court of Auditors on land-grabbing and its potential impact on the CAP.
2021/01/12
Committee: AGRI