BETA

43 Amendments of Mairead McGUINNESS related to 2011/2051(INI)

Mairead McGUINNESS, Esther DE LANGE

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas food security remains a central challenge for agriculture not only in the EU but globally, in particular in developing countries, ; whereas the world population is ~~predi~~expected to grow from 7 to 9 billion by 2050 ~~and demand for food is projected to double by the same year~~requiring a 70% increase in agricultural production, according to the FAO,

2011/03/21
Committee: AGRI

Esther DE LANGE, Mairead McGUINNESS

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas the European Parliament upholds the concept of multifunctional, broad-based agriculture spread throughout Europe and whereas in its resolution of 8 July 2010 on the future of the CAP after 2013 it already laid the foundations for competitive and sustainable agriculture,

2011/03/21
Committee: AGRI

Esther DE LANGE, Mairead McGUINNESS

Motion for a resolution
Recital G

G. whereas the ~~incorpo~~further integration of general objectives into the CAP, particularly relating to consumer protection, environmental protection, climate protection, animal welfare and regional cohesion, is in principle to be welcomed but this must not jeopardise the competitiveness of European farmers,

2011/03/21
Committee: AGRI

Michel DANTIN, Giovanni LA VIA, Elisabeth JEGGLE, Georgios PAPASTAMKOS, Sergio Paolo Francesco SILVESTRIS, Herbert DORFMANN, Esther DE LANGE, Esther HERRANZ GARCÍA, Carlo FIDANZA, Mairead McGUINNESS, Giancarlo SCOTTÀ, Lorenzo FONTANA, Agnès LE BRUN, Maria do Céu PATRÃO NEVES

Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)

Ia. whereas according to the latest Eurobarometer poll, 90% of EU citizens surveyed consider agriculture and rural areas to be important for Europe's future, 83% of EU citizens surveyed are in favour of financial support to farmers and, on average, they believe that agricultural policy should continue to be decided upon at European level,

2011/03/21
Committee: AGRI

Mairead McGUINNESS, Esther DE LANGE

Motion for a resolution
Recital L

L. whereas there should not be any differentiation in the treatment of farmers according to size of holding and legal form for the purpose of direct payments, although the possibility of introducing a basic allowance for small farmers should not be excluded,deleted

2011/03/21
Committee: AGRI

Mairead McGUINNESS

Motion for a resolution
Recital M

M. whereas ~~eff~~farmers recteive ~~measures should be taken to ensure a fair and equitable distribution of profits in the food chain~~a steadily decreasing share of the value added generated by the food supply chain, while the share of the food industry has increased; whereas a properly functioning food supply chain is a necessary prerequisite to ensure that farmers obtain a fair return for their produce,

2011/03/21
Committee: AGRI

Mairead McGUINNESS

Motion for a resolution
Recital N

N. whereas the per capita real income of farmers has fallen dramatically in the past two years ~~and, as a result of this constant decline, it has now fallen below the level it had attained nearly 15 years ago at the beginning of the reform proces~~, due largely to difficult market conditions; whereas agricultural incomes are notably lower (by an estimated 40% per working unit) than in the rest of the economy, and income per inhabitant in rural areas is considerably lower (by about 50%) than in urban areas,

2011/03/21
Committee: AGRI

Mairead McGUINNESS, Esther DE LANGE

Motion for a resolution
Recital O

O. whereas~~, because~~ the world economy is becoming in~~tegrated more rapidly,~~creasingly integrated and trade systems are as a rule being liberalised more by multilateral negotiations ~~(the Doha Round) and whereas in relation to imports from third countries~~; whereas agreements at multilateral and bilateral level must take into account the fact that EU farmers meet the highest food safety, environmental, and animal welfare~~, plant protection~~ standards in the world and coensu~~mer protection standards need to be raised to EU level and minimum employment standards should be complied with~~re that imports in to the EU meet these same high standards,

2011/03/21
Committee: AGRI

Mairead McGUINNESS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Welcomes the ~~communication from the Commission concerning a reform of agricultural policy; calls, however, for the principles set out below to be incorporated in the legislative proposals~~Commission's Communication "The CAP towards 2020: Meeting the food, natural resources and territorial challenges of the future"; stresses that a strong, well-funded CAP is essential to ensure a sustainable and viable agricultural sector in the EU and is necessary to meet the new challenges facing the CAP;

2011/03/21
Committee: AGRI

Michel DANTIN, Giovanni LA VIA, Elisabeth JEGGLE, Georgios PAPASTAMKOS, Sergio Paolo Francesco SILVESTRIS, Herbert DORFMANN, Esther DE LANGE, Esther HERRANZ GARCÍA, Carlo FIDANZA, Mairead McGUINNESS, Giancarlo SCOTTÀ, Lorenzo FONTANA, Agnès LE BRUN, Maria do Céu PATRÃO NEVES

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Insists that the costs of supporting a strong CAP are more than justified if compared to the costs to society of not supporting European agriculture;

2011/03/21
Committee: AGRI

Liam AYLWARD, Mairead McGUINNESS, James NICHOLSON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)

11a. Recognises that the agro-ecological and social conditions of farming vary hugely within the Union, as does public debate about the role of agriculture in the economy, and therefore believes that a “one size fits all” payment model should not be imposed upon all Member States, but rather allow them the flexibility to structure their own decoupled payment models in a way suitable to their own conditions, provided this does not distort competition;

2011/03/21
Committee: AGRI

Mairead McGUINNESS, Esther DE LANGE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Stresses the need ~~for an adequate basic allowance for small farmers, which Member States can optionally determine in those Member States where these farms help to stabilise rural development~~to provide options for Member States within their national envelopes to establish a simple support scheme for small farmers to improve their competitiveness and decrease the administrative burden in making payments to these farmers; calls for ~~these~~ Member States to decide, in accordance with subsidiarity, what percentage of the direct payments to be incorporated in the new subsidy system should be made available to their small farmers; stresses, however, that this must not hamper the necessary structural change;

2011/03/21
Committee: AGRI

Mairead McGUINNESS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Calls for a further simplification of the direct payment system, for example ~~simplified transfer rules for payment entitlements in the event of non- activation, merging of minimum payment entitlements,~~ simplification of the rules governing the national reserve and changes to gear them more to young farmers or reduce them, depending on the transition to the regional/national single area payment, abolition of handwritten cattle registries, an effective and unbureaucratic monitoring system for both pillars and uniform penalties; considers that administrative systems which can be proven to be operating well should be looked upon favourably in the light of the scale of monitoring prescribed;

2011/03/21
Committee: AGRI

Mairead McGUINNESS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Calls – without casting any doubt on the results of the 2008 Health Check of the CAP – for appropriations under Article 68 of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 primarily to be allocated for measures to promote territorial coherence and boost key sectors (e.g. the dairy and sheep sectors and suckler cows), for area-based environmental measures (e.g. organic farming) ~~which to date have not been included in the second pillar~~; considers that the budget for Article 68 could – subject to contrary results of an impact assessment – cover up to 10% of direct payments;

2011/03/21
Committee: AGRI

Mairead McGUINNESS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Observes that, for historical reasons, farmsing in the European Union haves a very diverse structure as regards size, employment arrangements and legal form; is aware that ~~direct payments are moving away from a historical basis to area-based payments and that~~ the provision of public goods is independent of farm size; rejects, therefore, measures which discriminate against particular types of farms;

2011/03/21
Committee: AGRI

Mairead McGUINNESS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Calls on the Commission to submit by 30 June 2016 a report setting out comprehensively how livestock farming in Europe can be safeguarded in the long term with regard to multifunctionality and regional aspects (such as mountain areas, Nordic regions and extremely remote areas) and also dealing with the question of how far the aims of the CAP can be realised in a more efficient, targeted way by means of decoupled, indirect support, e.g. premiums for extensive grassland or pasture land;deleted

2011/03/21
Committee: AGRI

Mairead McGUINNESS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Considers that direct payments should be made only to active farmers; realises that, under the system of decoupled direct payments, each farmer who uses farmland for production or who tends it in order to maintain GAEC should receive direct payments; calls on the Commission therefore to devise a definition of ‘active farmer’ which the Member States can administer without additional administrative effort, while it should be ensured that traditional farming activities (full-time and various degrees of part- time) are classified as active farming;deleted

2011/03/22
Committee: AGRI

Mairead McGUINNESS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Considers that cross compliance and GAEC have provided a valuable basis for the protection of resources essential for sustainable farming; endorses better resource protection ias an essential element in sustainable farming, ~~which should involve separate support for~~suggests that there are a number of ways in which this could be done, e.g. through extension of the GAEC, introduction of additional agri- environmental measures going beyond the requirements of Cross Compliance (CC), which already entail many environmental measures, and being geared to multiannual applications, as a result of which greater environmental benefits can be attainedin pillar 1 or expansion of agri-environmental measures in pillar 2; underlines that any further greening must be simple and cost effective;

2011/03/22
Committee: AGRI

Mairead McGUINNESS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. Considers that resource protection should be directly linked to the granting of direct payments in order to attain these environmental objectives to the maximum without the need to introduce new, bureaucratic environmental conditions into the first pillar; considers that a flat- rate income payment, as envisaged in a top-up model in the first pillar, must cover costs and income losses;deleted

2011/03/22
Committee: AGRI

Mairead McGUINNESS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Considers therefore that any environmental advantages can be attained more effectively and directly by means of second-pillar measures adopted by the Member States, which should ideally build on existing agrienvironmental measures or should supplement measures which take into account climatic and geographical differences in the Member States; observes that resource protection programmes should be pursued everywhere by means of a priority catalogue of area-based measures in the second pillar which are subject to basic requirements, particularly in the fields of climate, environment and innovation (Annex I), and are 100% EU-financed; regards the greening of direct payments in the first pillar as lying in the fact that any recipient of direct payments in the EU must implement at least two priority area- based resource protection programmes in order to be eligible for the complete farm payment; believes that the administration involved in these measures can be minimised by managing them in accordance with the system of the existing agrienvironmental programmes, thus avoiding duplication of monitoring and additional application and administration procedures;deleted

2011/03/22
Committee: AGRI

Mairead McGUINNESS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

~~23. Calls for the resources allocated to greening to be reserved for recipients of direct payments and only disbursed in connection with greening;~~deleted

2011/03/22
Committee: AGRI

Michel DANTIN, Giovanni LA VIA, Elisabeth JEGGLE, Georgios PAPASTAMKOS, Sergio Paolo Francesco SILVESTRIS, Esther DE LANGE, Carlo FIDANZA, Mairead McGUINNESS, Giancarlo SCOTTÀ, Lorenzo FONTANA, Agnès LE BRUN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. Regards this model as making a substantial contribution to the simplification of the direct payments system and to the attainment of new compulsory environmental objectives; observes that, under this model, there is no need to step up the current rate of monitoring and the current monitoring capacities, as existing checks can be used, and that checks in the second pillar can be combined in the basic and regeneration programme; considers also that no new systems of payments or penalties need be introduced;deleted

2011/03/22
Committee: AGRI

Mairead McGUINNESS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. Regards this model as making a substantial contribution to the simplification of the direct payments system and to the attainment of new compulsory environmental objectives; observes that, under this model, there is no need to step up the current rate of monitoring and the current monitoring capacities, as existing checks can be used, and that checks in the second pillar can be combined in the basic and regeneration programme; considers also that no new systems of payments or penalties need be introduced;deleted

2011/03/22
Committee: AGRI

Michel DANTIN, Giovanni LA VIA, Elisabeth JEGGLE, Georgios PAPASTAMKOS, Sergio Paolo Francesco SILVESTRIS, Esther DE LANGE, Carlo FIDANZA, Mairead McGUINNESS, Giancarlo SCOTTÀ, Lorenzo FONTANA, Agnès LE BRUN, Maria do Céu PATRÃO NEVES

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

25. Realises that resources from the first pillar (as for a top-up model) should be used to pay for this environmental component; believes, however, that Member States where direct payments lie below the EU average should be given the option of making the payment by means of cofinancing from the first pillar or instead by means of financing entirely from the second pillar; observes that the Member States must notify the Commission of their decision on the financing by 31 July 2013; notes that individual Member States' modulation resources should be used;deleted

2011/03/22
Committee: AGRI

Mairead McGUINNESS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

25. Realises that resources from the first pillar (as for a top-up model) should be used to pay for this environmental component; believes, however, that Member States where direct payments lie below the EU average should be given the option of making the payment by means of cofinancing from the first pillar or instead by means of financing entirely from the second pillar; observes that the Member States must notify the Commission of their decision on the financing by 31 July 2013; notes that individual Member States' modulation resources should be used;deleted

2011/03/22
Committee: AGRI

Mairead McGUINNESS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. Considers that direct payments are no longer justified without cross compliance (CC) and therefore that the CC system should apply to all recipients of direct payments19;

2011/03/22
Committee: AGRI

Mairead McGUINNESS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. Calls, in view of the greater concentration of direct payments on resource protection and environmental measures, for a substantial reduction of the scope of CC; calls on the Commission to make significant progress in simplifying and harmonising rules on monitoring;deleted

2011/03/22
Committee: AGRI

Mairead McGUINNESS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29

29. Considers that CC should be restricted to monitoring for compliance with fundamental and recognised standards and standards closely related to farming, which lend themselves to systematic monitoring;deleted

2011/03/22
Committee: AGRI

Mairead McGUINNESS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31

31. Could envisage a modest adaptation of the requirements to maintain GAEC with regard to altered environmental and production conditions (climate change, biomass), if the introduction of the new requirements in a comparable way throughout Europe were guarantedeleted;

2011/03/22
Committee: AGRI

Mairead McGUINNESS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32

32. Considers that the general market orientation of the CAP should be maintained and that the general structure of market management instruments should likewise be retained; recognises the fundamental role played by market support measures in responding to crises in the agricultural sector in the past, particularly the role of intervention and private storage; stresses that market support measures must be effective and activated promptly when needed;

2011/03/22
Committee: AGRI

Mairead McGUINNESS, Esther DE LANGE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32 a (new)

32 a. Highlights the problems faced by farmers at times of extreme market and price volatility; draws attention to the difficulties that farmers encounter in attempting to forward plan at times of extreme volatility; believes that measures to adequately address volatility in an increasingly globalised market will be a determining factor in ensuring that food production is maintained in the EU;

2011/03/22
Committee: AGRI

Mairead McGUINNESS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33

33. Considers that the health check approach should be pursued further, as these existing market instruments have also demonstrated their value as a safety net; takes the view that these market measures, and in particular intervention, should only be used as a safety net in case of price crises and potential market disruption;deleted

2011/03/22
Committee: AGRI

Mairead McGUINNESS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35

35. Recalls that market-orientated production and direct payments are at the heart of any insurance against risk~~, and that it is farmers who are responsible for risk prevention~~; supports the Member States, in this context, in making national risk insurance instruments available towithout any further financial burden on farmers;

2011/03/22
Committee: AGRI

Mairead McGUINNESS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37

~~37. Considers that the use of these instruments which have been described should be triggered only by a political assessment by the EU legislature;~~deleted

2011/03/22
Committee: AGRI

Mairead McGUINNESS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 41

41. Considers rather that these measures should be promoted optionally, by decision of the Member State, in the first pillar (now Article 69) within the existing financing ceiling of the Member State concerned and that Member States should be allowed, initially, on the basis of national and regional needs, to use up to 2% of direct payments for risk management, stabilisation and prevention measures; considers that, in justified cases, Member States should be allowed to make additional resources available from national funds;deleted

2011/03/22
Committee: AGRI

Mairead McGUINNESS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 42

~~42. Calls on the Commission to examine the extent to which producer groups or sectoral associations can be extended to all production sectors and incorporated into the risk prevention schemes;~~deleted

2011/03/22
Committee: AGRI

Mairead McGUINNESS, Esther DE LANGE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 45

45. ~~Advocates that the 2006 sugar market reform be extended to 2020 in its existing form in order to develop a system for the subsequent period which can operate without quotas~~Draws attention to the recent difficulties in the supply of sugar in the EU; calls on the Commission to thoroughly examine the effectiveness or otherwise of the sugar reform process in the EU, with a view to proposing options to Member States for the period post-2015;

2011/03/22
Committee: AGRI

Mairead McGUINNESS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 48

48. ~~Is aware of~~Recognises the importance of the second pillar, in view of its environmental, modernisation and structural improvement achievements, but also for attaining political objectives, ~~which~~including the EU 2020 Strategy objectives of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, that should also benefit farmers; calls therefore for second- pillar measures to be better suited to their objectives, so that the effectiveness of growth, employment and climate measures and measures for the benefit of rural areas can be increased; considers that, in this context, particular attention should be devoted to assisting young farmers, farm modernisation, training and advisory services;

2011/03/22
Committee: AGRI

Mairead McGUINNESS, Esther DE LANGE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 48 a (new)

48 a. Believes that research and innovation are key to meeting the challenge of food security in increasing production while using less resources; highlights the importance of promoting professional training, access to education, knowledge transfer and the exchange of best practices in the farming sector; reiterates the need for a coordinated approach between the CAP and other policies in order to facilitate access to research and innovation in agriculture;

2011/03/22
Committee: AGRI

Mairead McGUINNESS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 49

49. Advocates therefore introducing targeted measures, to be decided by the Member States in the second pillar, to attain priority objectives of the EU (2020 Strategy); observes that these measures should be applied in addition to the basic programmes for greening of direct payments in the first pillar and that a reduced national cofinancing rate of 25% should apply;deleted

2011/03/22
Committee: AGRI

Mairead McGUINNESS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 50

50. Advocates in this connection that the compensatory allowance for disadvantaged areas be retained in the second pillar; ~~considers that it should be ascertained what cofinancing rate appears to be appropriate;~~ calls on the Commission to retain the existing criteria for demarcation of disadvantaged areas;

2011/03/22
Committee: AGRI

Mairead McGUINNESS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 51

51. Stresses at the same time, however, that rural structures differ widely in the Member States and therefore require different measures; calls therefore for flexibility to allow the Member States to adopt voluntary measures~~, the cofinancing rate for which should be based on the rates current at the time~~;

2011/03/22
Committee: AGRI

Mairead McGUINNESS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 57

~~57. Observes that there is a need for action with regard to national tax law applicable to farms in order to distribute the tax burden more evenly over a period of years;~~deleted

2011/03/22
Committee: AGRI