No. 34 The future of the Common Agricultural Policy 82 ANALYSIS AND PROSPECTIVE STUDIES CULTIVAR climate actions (currently AEM – AgriEnvironmental Measures and ES – Eco-Schemes, the latter currently included in the first pillar), payments for natural constraints and other specific constraints (currently Maintaining Agricultural Activity in Less Favoured Areas); payments for disadvantages resulting from certain mandatory requirements (Natura payments); support for investments by farmers and foresters (current investment support); setting up of young farmers, new farmers, rural businesses and start-ups (currently only covers the setting up of young farmers); replacement services (currently non-existent). This confirms the extinction of the two pillars of the CAP and intensifies competition between the different interventions financed by the CAP budget and, consequently, between sectors and farmers; supported by the first pillar and therefore 100% financed by the Community budget, continue to be financed in the same way, while interventions traditionally supported by the second pillar and also included in the pink box will now have a mandatory minimum co-financing of 30%, well above the current level, and with no upper limit. This requirement deepens the renationalisation of the CAP, leaving Member States with more fragile economies, such as Portugal, more vulnerable. — Interventions excluded from the pink box, i.e. those that no longer have funding secured by the CAP ring-fencing, are divided into three groups: ▷Those allocated to Portugal without prior allocation (blue box), in competition with all sectors that are traditionally financed by the Structural Funds: Operational groups for innovation, Training and information, Agricultural and forest advisory, Agri-environmental and climate knowledge; Specialised technical support, LEADER and School scheme; ▷ POSEI, a regulation establishing specific measures in the field of agriculture in the outermost regions, which in Portugal are the Azores and Madeira, with its funding still to be clarified; ▷ Irrigation and the bioeconomy, which are not even mentioned as CAP interventions, and for which it is essential to secure funding. It should be noted that the fact that agricultural interventions now excluded from the CAP ring-fencing are financed by the amount of the fund without prior allocation (blue box), now reduced compared to the current programming period, and in competition with multiple potential beneficiaries traditionally financed by the Structural Funds, creates increased uncertainty as there are no guarantees of adequate funding, which depends on internal negotiations regarding the application of the Fund3. This loss is thus added to the reduction in the specific amount for the CAP, doubly penalising Portuguese agriculture. Still with regard to the CAP proposal, and to give just one example, our Confederation is astonished at what is proposed for the "Degressive area-based income support", which ignores the simplification process of the last 20 years. In Portugal, this process will culminate in 2026 with the allocation of an equal unit amount for all farmers. In fact, the proposed legislation introduces unjustified complexity that will be very difficult to implement, as it requires this support to be differentiated between young people, new farmers, women and small family farmers, among others. In addition, this 3 This uncertainty and the lack of a guarantee of adequate funding is exacerbated in a potential application by agriculture to the ECF. — Interventions in the pink box, traditionally
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTgxOTE4Nw==