Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am glad this question was asked because there has not been enough discussion of pillar 2 and related decisions.

The likelihood is that there will be some element of sequencing in the CAP reform negotiations and not all decisions will be taken at the same time, although political agreement on a deal will most likely cover all of the key elements both for pillar 1 and for pillar 2.

As the Deputy will be aware, there are two separate and parallel negotiating processes in play on this dossier.

Certain elements of CAP reform, largely related to funding, are being dealt with as part of the negotiations on the multiannual financial framework for the EU budget. These elements will be decided by Heads of State and Government, and a special meeting of the European Council has been convened for 22 and 23 November for this purpose. That meeting may in fact go on for three or four days. The European Parliament must give its consent to any agreement reached.

In parallel, the European Agriculture and Fisheries Council will take the decisions on the other policy elements of CAP reform in full co-decision with the European Parliament. The Council is now scheduled to meet on 28 and 29 November and the intention of the Cyprus Presidency is to seek what is known as a “partial general approach” on all the CAP reform regulations at that meeting, in other words, the position of the Council to prepare for the discussions with Parliament.

The Commission published its proposals for pillar 2 of the Common Agricultural Policy in October of last year as part of a package of seven legislative proposals for reform of the CAP after 2013. While I can provide the Deputy with further information on these should he wish, I suspect his main concern relates to the amount of funding available for pillar 2 and the distribution of that funding. The Commission proposal is to provide €90.9 billion in funding for rural development over the seven year period from 2014 to 2020, and this forms part of the multi-annual financial framework, MFF, negotiations that will be up for decision by Heads of State and Government later this month. The draft regulation on rural development proposes that these funds will be distributed between member states on the basis of objective criteria and past performance. The Commission has yet to publish concrete proposals on distribution or to provide full details of the criteria and weightings it is planning to use.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House.

I have been pressing the Commission for some time to come forward with concrete proposals for distribution of pillar 2 funds. I believe it is unrealistic to expect member states to sign up to proposals for the allocation of pillar 1 funds without knowing the Commission’s intentions on the second pillar. I have serious concerns that the envisaged use of a combination of past performance and objective criteria to determine distribution of pillar 2 funds will reduce our allocation. I believe an objective criteria approach cannot provide a solution that will address the concerns of all member states and should be abandoned. Allocation of pillar 2 funds should be based on past performance only, as measured over the entire 2007 to 2013 rural development programming period. Any adjustment beyond that should use the same methodology as the Commission has proposed for pillar 1.

I am also pressing for pillar 1 and pillar 2 funds to be considered together, and for the pragmatic approach being employed for direct payments to be used for rural development as well. The latter would be consistent with the complementary nature of the two pillars within one common agricultural policy. In addition, no member state with below average pillar 2 payments per hectare should lose in any redistribution, and no member state should lose under both pillars. As Ireland receives lower than average payments per hectare for direct payment and rural development funds combined, I see no justification for any reduction.

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