The Spanish countryside loses: the ‘Brexit’ mine in 10% the funds of the CAP

They are not good times for farmers, especially in Spain. The impact of trade tensions with the US, which could worsen this month with the rise in tariffs on agrifood products up to 100%, adds the expected cut that will suffer the Common Agricultural Policy (PAC) in the next multiannual EU Budget (2021-2027), and that Member States must close before the end of this year. Everyone assumes that the CAP will get a good snip, mainly because Europe will lose one of its main contributors to the Community Budget with the departure of the United Kingdom. The Brexit It will cause an annual hole in the community coffers of some 12,000 million. The reduction is yet to be determined, but would range between 10% and 13% compared to the 252,000 million of the current budget framework, according to the proposals that circulate. In addition, the Member States and the European Commission have added new priorities to the list for the coming years, such as migration management or Defense.

Agriculture and Cohesion are the two major items of the Community budget, with just over two thirds of the resources. And since a majority of net taxpayers do not want to open the portfolio anymore, the question is how big the cut will be to make room for the new objectives. The first clues will arrive at the summit on February 20. Community and diplomatic sources agree that the proposal made by Finland Last semester, during his rotating EU presidency, he is being the basis for negotiation.

His proposal provoked a loud protest from Spain and the rest of the countries (17 in total) that defend the maximum protection of the CAP and Cohesion funds. Finland set the volume for the next seven years at 1.07% of EU GDP (about 1.087 billion euros). It represented a cut of almost 50,000 million, regarding the proposal made by the European Commission.

On the contrary, the Netherlands, Austria, Sweden and Denmark are leading the debate to further reduce the expense ceiling, up to 1% of community GDP, which would represent even greater cuts for the countryside. From the team of the helmsman of the summits, the president of the European Council, Charles MichelThey explain that the Belgian is not yet clear on what proposal he will make to leaders on the 20th as a starting point for negotiation.

Positions found

However, the positions are so distant that neither in the European Parliament, nor in the Commission nor among the Member States they expect that an agreement will be reached next week, and even some already speak of an extraordinary summit in April. President Pedro Sanchez He commented last week, after meeting with Michel in Brussels, that one of the “fundamental issues” for Spain will be the defense of direct payments to “our small and medium farmers.”

Although the cut to the CAP is expected to be significant, veterans in the negotiation comment that we will have to wait until the end to see the true dimension. The fight he makes France to protect the CAP, your sacred cow, will be decisive at the last minute.

In addition, the call is about to be determined external convergence, which reduces the difference in aid that members receive per hectare based on their seniority, and that benefits the most veteran. In spite of the little clarity that exists on the future volume of the Budget and the distribution between priorities, what seems quite likely is that our country will become a net contributor, due to the improvement of its economic weight in relation to the rest of the partners, maximum after the extension by the East.

In addition, Brexit has further complicated the negotiations of the future of the PAC itself, which were already advancing in stumbling blocks and have important obstacles to overcome. Community countries must therefore agree on the criteria for distribute the funds, or what constitutes being a farmer, that is, who can receive the aid, or how the greener dimension that the EU wants to give to its policies is included.

Brussels asks the new Government for an adjustment of almost 8,000 million regarding its plans