Mr.
Paice: I am sorry to take up a moment or two—I want
to check the issue of de minimis. A few moments ago, the Minister said,
I think, that the proposal on the table would allow individual member
states to set their own level. Can she clarify that? It is not in the
papers that we are discussing. In the Commission’s
proposals—article 30 on page 45 of the pack—the draft
article clearly mentions a minimum of €250 or 1 hectare, with
the exceptions of Cyprus and Malta. I am grateful if the Minister is
bringing new information to the Committee, but perhaps she could
clarify the matter as it is not in front of
us.
Jane
Kennedy: I understand that, within the Agriculture
Council, what form a de minimis would take is currently being
discussed. I accept the hon. Gentleman’s point
that it is not written into the documents, but the issue is actively
under discussion. He will be aware that the final discussions on this
are due to conclude within the next month or two—if not at the
next Council meeting, at the one after that—and this issue will
be of great importance. I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for drawing
my attention to the figures and perhaps he could share them with me as
I would appreciate seeing them.
The evolution
of the common agricultural policy has taken major steps in the right
direction since 2003—notwithstanding what my hon. Friend the
Member for Luton, North says—but it still lacks a clear and
justifiable long-term goal. I want to see a CAP that underpins a
European farming industry which is profitable and competitive in its
own right; a policy that helps farming be more sustainable, and rewards
farmers who deliver genuine public benefits.
Finally, and
most importantly, I want a CAP that gives the developing world a fair
chance to compete, helping us to respond collectively to the global
challenges of ensuring food security. Food security and sustainable
production must go together. My aim is to ensure that our food supplies
remain secure and that we have a strong, thriving environmentally
sustainable farming industry in this country, which continues to
produce a significant proportion of our food. Working with the EU, and
other partners, my aim is to meet the challenges of feeding the world,
sustaining our natural resources, and tackling climate change. It is a
small brief, and I look forward to rising to the challenge of
it. Question
put and agreed
to. Resolved, That
the Committee takes note of European Union Documents No. 9656/08 and
Addenda 1 and 2 — Draft Council Regulation establishing common
rules for direct support schemes for farmers under the Common
Agricultural Policy and establishing certain support schemes for
farmers, and Draft Council Regulation on modifications to the Common
Agricultural Policy by amending 320/2006, 1234/2007, 3/2008 and an
unnumbered document relating to the Common Market Organisation for
wine, and Draft Council Regulation 1698/2005 on support for rural
development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development
(EAFRD), and Draft Council Decision amending Decision 2006/144/EC in
the Community strategic guidelines for rural development (programming
period 2007 to 2013) and European Union Document No. 9923/08,
Commission Communication — Tackling the challenge of rising food
prices — Directions for EU action; supports the Government's
negotiating aims that the 'Health Check' should cut further the trade
and market distorting nature of the CAP, reduce regulatory burdens,
give farmers greater control over their business decisions, and direct
more public spending towards delivery of targeted public benefits, and
considers that the separately proposed measures to tackle rising food
prices are adequate and proportionate to the scale of the
problem. Committee
rose at ten minutes to Seven
o’clock.
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