New CAP: From bad to worst

Brussels, 23 October 2020 – MEP Francisco Guerreiro (Greens/EFA) voted against the final proposals of the three regulations that make up the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) - Horizontal, Strategic Plan and Common Market Organisation regulations - in a attempt to reject this reform, but despite the mobilization of several political families against it, it was not possible to stop the approval of this text. 

“We cannot declare a climate emergency, want to reduce emissions by 60% by 2030, and come up with an even worse copy of the previous CAP, which completely disregards climate, biodiversity, food sovereignty, future generations and the fight against corruption. We will have the worst CAP ever and climate scientists emphasise this,” declares Francisco Guerreiro, first Vice-Chair of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development of the European Parliament (EP).

"I voted against this CAP and I will continue to fight to end the 'green washing' presented by MEPs, ministers and agribusiness lobbies", says the MEP. 

The reasons for the rejection of the CAP by Francisco Guerreiro and the Greens/European Free Alliance (Greens/EFA), are related to issues such as the dilution of the requirements for farmers to receive subsidies (conditionality); the ‘eco-schemes’ that will be voluntary for farmers to follow and that actually represent a less-funded version of the previous CAP's green measures (whose budget ceiling is not even defined); failure to improve animal welfare requirements for livestock animals; the non-definition of 'intensive livestock', which is essential to trigger benefits for those who produce extensively; continued funding for the promotion of animal products and derivatives, as well as the application of more marketing restrictions to vegan food products alternative to dairy products. 

This week was filled with political moves and the EP voted for a text of the highest importance that will govern European agriculture for a period of seven years (2021-2027) and which represents 34.5% of the 2020 European budget.

The Strategic Plans regulation, establishing the conditions to be met by countries and farmers in order for them to receive subsidies, “had a pre-agreement between the three main political families [PPE (PSD/CDS-PP), Renew and S&D (PS)], which did not allow several amendments from other groups to even be voted”, said the MEP.  

Considering this action “a backstage game that does not dignify European politics and the European Parliament”, Francisco Guerreiro added that “the pre-agreement went even further, to the point that the votes were brought forward in one day, surprising all those not involved”.

On Tuesday, 20 October, the Greens/EFA group presented the amendment 1147 to reject this report on the Strategic Plan, but even with the votes of several MEPs from the European political families of the S&D (PS) and the GUE/NGL (BE), the report passed.

Civil society also voiced concerns, including the activist Greta Thunberg, who sided with the Greens/EFA and in favour of this rejection amendment, while also rejecting the three CAP regulations. The movement generated a campaign on the social network Twitter, which gained prominence with the hashtag #VoteThisCAPDown.

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