national budgets, to the EU’s support mechanism
in order to assist certain countries, including our
own, we can’t expect the EU Budget to be bal-
anced, to have the same structure, the same allo-
cation of expenditures and the same speeds as
before.”
In fact, the ex-Minister referred to the scenarios
concerning cuts in CAP funds and “whether these
will reach 40%, 35% or 25%, and there are state-
ments to the fact that the CAP will be left with only
30% of its existing budget”, claiming that any
negotiations should focus on “who is eligible for
these funds, and how they will get them”.
The Commission’s scenarios
The European Commission has unveiled its sug-
gestions in view of the CAP’s reform, which will
be decided in July (in order to be implemented
from 2014 to 2020): the talks also concern the
review, almost from zero, of income support to
farmers, the concentration of assistance to pro-
fessional producers, and the further linkage of
support to environmental protection.
The European Commissioner for Agriculture,
Dacian Cioloş, had presented alternative scenar-
ios as early as last November; the member-states
are called to present their own views on these
scenarios, and his official proposals will be sub-
mitted this July.
The revision planned by the Commissioner is
obviously linked to the negotiations for determin-
ing the EU’s own funds during the period 2014-
2020. Thus, in this initial stage the Commission
cannot give a cost estimate regarding the revi-
sion, since it does not know the extent of the cut-
backs needed in agriculture as part of the new
seven-year fiscal package, i.e. the capabilities of
the budget.
The three scenarios unveiled by the Commission
provide for a drastic revision of the CAP, which
includes the gradual abolition of income support
(in the first scenario); the preservation of the cur-
rent regime with certain minor changes (in the
second); and the redistribution, redesign and
improved targeting of support on the basis of
objective, fair, easily understood, financially func-
tional and environmentally correct criteria, focus-
ing on support to active farmers.
Trade with Greece
136
