Ministers agree sound negotiating basis for CAP

EU farm ministers have had their first serious discussions on the post 2020 CAP reforms.

A document set out the priority areas. These included risk management, direct support, job creation, rural development, the environment and help for young farmers. There was a level of agreement that these were a sound negotiating basis for a new CAP.

Farm commissioner Phil Hogan admitted afterwards that a key problem was that ideas exceed the likely budget that will be available. This will have an up to 15% hole blown in it by Brexit. Ministers stuck to the conservative options, expressing enthusiasm for a continuation of the pillar one and two approach, but with more flexibility between them.

It will be a long road to agreement for the EU 27, but with ideas on the table they are ahead of the UK. The European Commission has published a positive, but guarded, report on prospects for European dairy markets.

It says that by the end of 2016 the market was recovering well, on the back of a significant drop in milk production. It is forecasting a modest rise this year – up by less than 1%. It is hopeful that this can be absorbed. However it is warning that markets will have to be monitored over the next few weeks, as production begins to rise seasonally.

The UK is continuing to gain from the weakness of sterling. It has emerged that the milk reduction programme of last year failed to use the budget allocated, mainly because it came in as production was already falling.

A blow to hopes that markets have stabilised was however a drop of 6% in the Fonterra Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction price, confirming that recovery remains fragile. A further problem remains unsold skim milk powder in Commission intervention stores. Wednesday is forecast to see the publication of advice to the European Commission on the safety of glyphosate.

This is the world’s most widely used weed killer. Some reports have suggested it may be linked to cancer, although the scientific evidence is slim.

The Commission is facing pressure to ban the product and has already limited the extension of its licence. The advice will come from the EU Chemical Agency, and will be based on science alone and its assessment of the safety of the product.

This should form the Commission stance, but it is under pressure from activist groups to implement the ‘precautionary principle’ regardless of the science. With member states divided, the final decision will be up to the Commission alone.

Wednesday is forecast to see the publication of advice ... on the safety of glyphosate