49 Amendments of Richard ASHWORTH related to 2011/2051(INI)
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas food has a strategic importance, with the most favourable way of ensuring food security is to maintain a stable, profitable agricultural sector; whereas the CAP is failing to achieve this,
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas food security remains a central challenge for agriculture not only in the EU but globally, in particular in developing countries, as the world population is predicted to grow from 7 to 9 billion by 2050 and demand for food is projected to double by the same year according to the FAO; whereas this extra food will need to be produced against a background of pressure on natural resources, meaning that farmers will need to produce more, using less land and using less fertilisers and pesticides,
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas food security remains a central challenge for agriculture not only in the EU but globally, in particular in developing countries, as the world population is predicted to grow from 7 to 9 billion by 2050 and demand for food is projected to double by the same year according to the FAO, whereas this extra food will need to be produced against a background of pressure on natural resources, meaning that farmers will need to produce more using less land and less fertilisers and pesticides,
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)
Recital I a (new)
Ia. whereas the Commission should further strengthen funding for R&D in agriculture,
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I b (new)
Recital I b (new)
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I c (new)
Recital I c (new)
Ic. whereas the sharp rises in global commodity prices are increasing the price of food and the costs of production, while farm incomes are decreasing,
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
J. whereas the European Parliament has often expressed its opposition to a renationalisation of the CAP and an increase in cofinancing, which could detract from fair competition on the EU internal market, and therefore advocates that direct payments be wholly financed by the EU budget,
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
Recital K
K. whereas a two-pillar CAP, with pillar one focused on market support measures and pillar two focused on rural development, should be retained,
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L
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,
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M a (new)
Recital M a (new)
Ma. whereas further measures are needed into the use of modern technology in farming to reduce the use of inputs, specifically focused on precision farming techniques,
Amendment 141 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital N
Recital N
Amendment 156 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital O
Recital O
O. whereas, because the world economy is becoming integrated more rapidly, trade systems are as rule being liberalised more by multilateral negotiations (the Doha Round) and whereas in relation to imports from third countries environmental, animal welfare, plant protection and consumer protection standards need to be raised to EU level and minimum employment standards, particularly regarding child labour, should be complied with,
Amendment 187 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital P a (new)
Recital P a (new)
Pa. whereas the European Parliament resolution of May 2010 on the simplification of the CAP has not been taken into account in the Commission communication,
Amendment 202 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Expects the re-design of the CAP to align with the EU 2020 Strategy priorities of smart, inclusive and sustainable growth; Believes that agriculture is well placed to make a major contribution to tackling climate change, creating new jobs through green growth and supplying renewable energy whilst at the same time continuing to provide safe, high quality food products and food security for European consumers;
Amendment 203 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Urges the Commission to start considering the reform of the CAP in the context of future challenges, including food security, climate change, population growth, the integration of markets and the competition for resources; and considers these challenges the main drivers for post 2013 CAP.
Amendment 207 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Calls for the CAP to remain structured around two pillars; Points out that pillar 1 should remain fully financed by the EU budget and yearly based, while multiannual programming, a voluntary and contractual approach and co- financing should continue to apply under pillar 2;
Amendment 208 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. In respect of food security, insists that the Commission takes due and proper account of the Policy Coherence for Development agenda to ensure that CAP reform is consistent with other EU initiatives with regard to its impact on developing countries,
Amendment 460 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Stresses the need for an adequate basic allowance for small farmers, which Member States can optionally determine in thosesmall farmers to remain viable wherever possible, as in Member States where these farms help to stabilise rural development; calls for these Member States to decide, in accordance with subsidiarity, whether to offer such a scheme, and if so, what percentage of the direct payments to be incorporated in theto a new subsidy system shwhich could be made available to their small farmers; particularly through rural development funding; stresses, however, that this must not hamper the necessary structural change;
Amendment 497 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 d (new)
Paragraph 14 d (new)
14d. Believes that the EU has a role to play in meeting the challenges of food security and energy security, and therefore needs to ensure that agriculture plays a full role in meeting both these challenges; Believes therefore, that it is inappropriate for compulsory set-aside to be included in the list of sustainability measures as proposed by the Commission;
Amendment 520 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Considers that decoupling has essentially proved its worth, and should be further extended to other sectors still coupled to production given the increased effect on income and greater autonomy in decision-making on the part of farmers and the associated simplification of the CAP, and calls for this also, in general, to apply to suckler cow and sheep premiums; recognises, however, that in certain sectors and regions such as mountain regions, where there are no alternatives to relatively labour-intensive livestock farming, there may be considerable economic and environmental drawbacks which cannot be reconciled with the aims of the Treaty; acknowledges, therefore, that production- based premiums might be defensible within a narrowly defined framework for a limited period even after 2013; but only through Article 68 measures decided by the Member State concerned;
Amendment 531 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
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)strictly used to help preserve sensitive production in specific locations, 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 payments5% of direct payments; and that any coupled support payments be limited to a maximum of 3.5% of the national or regional envelope for direct payments; furthermore, calls for any measures submitted by member states to be subject to approval by the Commission under delegated acts to ensure that they do not distort production and markets within the single market but that the threshold for trade distorting measures within article 68 should not be increased from its present level of 3.5%;
Amendment 566 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Observes that, for historical reasons, farms in the European Union have 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; strongly rejects, therefore, measures which discriminate against particular types of farm, particularly as the EU will need to produce more food in the future to meet food security concerns;
Amendment 580 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
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 safeguardeddevelop 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 fawhether 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;
Amendment 603 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
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 ‘inactive farmer’ to clearly identify which farmers or landowners would not qualify for payments reserved only for 'active farmers' which the Member States can administer without additional administrative effort, while it should be ensured; reaffirms that traditional farming activities (full-time and various degrees of part-time) are classified as active farming;
Amendment 604 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
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 ‘" inactive farmer", to clearly identify which farmers or landowners would not qualify for payments reserved only for "active farmer’s" which the Member States can administer without additional administrative effort, while it should be ensured; reaffirms that traditional farming activities (full-time and various degrees of part-time) are classified as active farming and that contract farming arrangements as well as management of common land are taken into account;
Amendment 689 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
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 canmust be minimised; considers that by managing them in accordance with the system of the existing agrienvironmental programmes, thus avoiding duplication of monitoring and additional application and administration procedures can be avoided;
Amendment 725 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
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 objectivesimproving the environmental performance of farming; 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;
Amendment 782 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)
Paragraph 27 a (new)
27a. Points out that the cross-compliance system makes the granting of direct payments subject to compliance with statutory requirements and the maintenance of farmland in good agricultural and environmental condition, and remains one of the appropriate means of optimising the provision of baseline eco-system services by farmers and meeting new environmental challenges by securing the provision of basic public goods; notes, however, that the introduction of cross-compliance has raised a whole range of problems relating to administrative issues and acceptance by farmers, who had the impression that they were losing a degree of freedom in their work; calls therefore for the administrative burden on farmers to be reduced through a simplified implementation system for cross- compliance requirements;
Amendment 784 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 b (new)
Paragraph 27 b (new)
27b. Rejects, therefore, the introduction of burdensome and unclear requirements derived from the water framework directive into the cross-compliance system until clarification is established as regards the state of play of implementation of this directive in all Member States;
Amendment 785 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 c (new)
Paragraph 27 c (new)
27c. Believes that genuine efforts are being made to simplify the system and reduce the administrative red-tape placed on farmers; calls however for a simplified, more proportionate and risk-based approach by the Commission and Member States to the implementation of regulatory controls, the conduct of compliance audits and the system of penalties;
Amendment 794 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
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; calls on the Commission to consider the introduction of tolerance levels and the application of proportionality within any penalty system;
Amendment 796 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)
Paragraph 28 a (new)
28a. Considers that any proposal to CAP payments to larger farms runs contrary to the principle of CAP simplification, as farms will simply be split up to avoid losing direct payments;
Amendment 829 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32
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 retainbe simplified;
Amendment 848 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33
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 minimum safety net in case of extreme price crises and potentialmajor market disruption;
Amendment 866 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34
Paragraph 34
34. Considers that, in view of the anticipated environmental and climate dangers and the risk of epidemics and considerable price fluctuations on agricultural markets, additional risk prevention is of vital importance, particularly at individual farm level if the EU is to contribute to increasing global food production to ensure food security;
Amendment 887 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36
Paragraph 36
36. Considers that a multi-stage safety net comprising private storage, public intervention, market disruption instruments and an emergency clause would confer the greatest possible benefit; calls for private storage and public intervention to be permitted for specific sectors where market disruptions are of limited duration; calls furthermore for a market disruption instrument and an emergency clause to be established for all sectors in common, making it possible for the Commission, under certain circumstances, in the event of crises to take action over a limited period which goes beyond the existing instruments; stresses that any powers given to the Commission under such circumstances must be only for a period of no longer than one year;
Amendment 965 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 42
Paragraph 42
Amendment 984 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 43
Paragraph 43
Amendment 1003 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 44 a (new)
Paragraph 44 a (new)
44 a. Recalls that EU farmers are required to produce food to the highest safety, environmental, quality and animal welfare standards and should be rewarded for doing so; believes that imports from third countries should, respecting WTO rights and obligations, meet equivalent standards to ensure fairer competition; calls on the Commission to uphold the interests of European farmers in the context of multilateral and bilateral trade agreements negotiated on behalf of the EU;
Amendment 1004 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 45
Paragraph 45
Amendment 1043 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47
Paragraph 47
47. Observes that speculation in agricultural commodities should be combatedhas not been proved to cause significant movements in agricultural commodities and cannot drive prices in the long run, as for every buy there is a sell; recognises that futures markets and hedging could play a more important role in farmers' risk management strategies; advocates a worldwide notification system for agricultural stocks; observes that consideration should be given to whether it is feasible to maintaining stocks of vital agricultural commodities at a global level;
Amendment 1049 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47 a (new)
Paragraph 47 a (new)
47 a. Calls for measures to be taken to strengthen primary producers' and producer organisations' management capacity and bargaining power vis-à-vis other economic operators in the food chain (primarily retailers, processors and input companies), provided these developments do not hinder the proper functioning of the internal market; takes the view that the functioning of the food supply-chain should be improved, through greater transparency of food prices and action to address unfair commercial practices, enabling farmers to obtain the added value they deserve; believes that the appointment of ombudsmen should be considered with a view to solving disputes between the operators along the food supply-chain;
Amendment 1061 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 48
Paragraph 48
48. Is aware of the importance ofPoints out that rural development under the second pillar, in view of its environmental, modernisation and structural improvement achievements, but also for attaining political objectives, which should also benefit farmers; calls therefore for second-pillar measures to be better suited to their objectives, so that the effectiveness of grows now an integral part of the CAP architecture and should remain an important element of the future CAP through a well-equipped rural development strategy with a reinforced focus on growth and innovation in rural areas, improving th,e 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 farmernvironment, mitigating and adapting to climate change, modernising and restructuring agriculture, strengthening cohesion in EU rural areas, revitalising disadvantaged areas and areas at risk of abandonment, improving agricultural added-value and competitiveness and creating new jobs in rural areas;
Amendment 1082 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 48
Paragraph 48
48. Is aware of the importance of the second pillar, in view of its environmental, modernisation and structural improvement achievements, but also for attaining political objectives, which 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, who are the future of farming in the European Union;
Amendment 1107 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 49
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, for a targeted approach under the second pillar, with sufficient flexibility left to Member States and regions to prioritise their rural development programmes at key priorities providing instruments to achieve the EU 2020 Strategy objectives;
Amendment 1124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 49 a (new)
Paragraph 49 a (new)
49 a. Calls, in line with the Commission Communication, for a more outcome- oriented approach through a general move towards the use of delivery tools that set goals and empower farmers and rural communities to choose their own systems to meet multiannual targets and objectives, such as outcome agreements and simple contracts;
Amendment 1128 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 49 b (new)
Paragraph 49 b (new)
49 b. Believes that Green growth should be at the heart of a new rural development strategy that focuses on creating new opportunities in terms of: - developing rural areas' potential to produce more renewable and sustainable energy from second-generation biofuels, from biomass, agro-materials, agro-waste and the by-products of agriculture; - boosting on-farm small-scale renewable energy production; - investing in innovative techniques as well as projects for applying research and development on farms; - providing technical support and advice to farmers, especially young farmers, in applying new agricultural techniques;
Amendment 1224 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 55
Paragraph 55
55. Calls for simplification and a review of the cross-compliance rules for the second pillar in alignment with cross-compliance rules in the first pillar as described in paragraphs 27-31, considers simplification of the current indicator system to be necessary and takes a critical view of the introduction of quantitative targets;
Amendment 1249 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 57
Paragraph 57