No 2 | 2021 The new CAP creating new horizons Journal A more sustainable CAP… “ there is no choice! 1 Table of contents 13 30 ECA JOURNAL LONG READ INTERVIEW Can the new CAP help EU IInterview with Janusz Wojciechowski, Commissioner agriculture to meet the targets in for Agriculture the European Green Deal? The new CAP – building on the By Professor Alan Matthews, Department of transition in Europe Economics, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland By Derek Meijers and Gaston Moonen Performance at the heart of the new 39 Common Agricultural Policy By Mihail Dumitru, Deputy-Director General for Agriculture and Rural Development. European Commission 05 EDITORIAL 37 ‘We need to support our farmers to reach goals for 07 The future of food and agriculture - transformative society as a whole’ changes for sustainable agri-food systems Interview with Julia Klöckner, Minister of Food and By Gaston Moonen Agriculture of Germany By Gaston Moonen ECA JOURNAL LONG READ 39 Performance at the heart of the new Common 13 Can the new CAP help EU agriculture to meet the Agricultural Policy targets in the European Green Deal? By Mihail Dumitru, Deputy-Director General for Agriculture By Professor Alan Matthews, Department of Economics, Trinity and Rural Development. European Commission College Dublin, Ireland 44 Towards a greener and fairer CAP 20 Agricultural policy in the United States – stability By Lukas Visek, cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans or instability ? Timmermans at the European Commission By Professor Emeritus David Blandford, Penn State University 47 Multiple interactions between agriculture and 25 Policies for a more resilient agro-food sector the quality of our lives make the new CAP - and By Jesús Antón, Jonathan Brooks, Emily Gray and Urszula auditing it - more relevant than eve Ziebinska, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Interview with Samo Jereb, ECA Member and chair of the Development (OECD) ECA audit chamber Sustainable Use of Natural Resources 30 The new CAP – building on the transition in Europe By Derek Meijers and Gaston Moonen Interview with Janusz Wojciechowski, Commissioner for 55 ECA audits of the CAP highlight issues that tie into Agriculture the recent agreement on the future of the CAP By Derek Meijers and Gaston Moonen By Joanna Kokot, Sustainable Use of Natural Resources Directorate 2 NUMBER 1/2021 37 47 INTERVIEW INTERVIEW Interview with Julia Klöckner, Minister of Food and Interview with Samo Jereb, ECA Member and chair of the Agriculture of Germany ECA audit chamber Sustainable Use of Natural Resources ‘We need to support our farmers to Multiple interactions between reach goals for society as a whole’ agriculture and the quality of our lives By Gaston Moonen make the new CAP - and auditing it - more relevant than ever By Gaston Moonen 62 92 An auditor’s take on ECA’s work on Assessing Slovenia’s monitoring of the the post-2020 CAP effectiveness of rural development projects By Liia Laanes and Charlotta Törneling, By Erika Rupnik and Maša Železnik, Court of Audit of the 'Sustainable Use of Natural Resources' Directorate Republic of Slovenia 62 An auditor’s take on ECA’s work on the post-2020 CAP 92 Assessing Slovenia’s monitoring of the effectiveness By Liia Laanes and Charlotta Törneling, 'Sustainable Use of Natural of rural development projects Resources' Directorate By Erika Rupnik and Maša Železnik, Court of Audit of the Republic 67 EU measures to stabilise farmers’ incomes – a of Slovenia contribution to increasing farmers’ resilience 98 The conservation of valuable natural habitats in By Céline Ollier, Sustainable Use of Natural Resources Directorate national parks in Poland under the CAP 72 Did the 2014-2020 CAP reduce Greenhouse Gas By Marzanna Lipińska and Franciszek Witkowski, Supreme Audit Emissions from agriculture? Office of Poland, Department of Agriculture & Rural Development By Jindrich Dolezal, Sustainable Use of Natural Resources 103 New CAP reflects core EP ambitions to be more Directorate redistributive, greener and socially just 77 Using water in agriculture: can we do it more Interview with Norbert Lins, MEP and Chair of the EP sustainably? Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development By Els Brems, Sustainable Use of Natural Resources Directorate By Derek Meijers and Gaston Moonen 80 Monitoring CAP beneficiaries – the eye from the sky 108 The new CAP: more powers to Member States By Greta Kapustaite, Sustainable Use of Natural Resources for tailor made solutions will mean greater Directorate accountability needsfor national parliaments Interview with Luis Capoulas Santos, Chair of the European 86 DIRECTOR’S CUT Affairs Committee of the Parliament of Portugal Auditors adding value by looking at the overall By Gaston Moonen impact of the CAP, new or old Interview with Peter Welch, ECA Director 112 Financing gap in the EU’s agricultural sector and By Gaston Moonen potential for financial instruments to address financing needs By Mario Guido, European Investment Bank 3 Table of contents NUMBER 1/2021 103 108 INTERVIEW INTERVIEW Interview with Norbert Lins, MEP and Chair of the EP Interview with Luis Capoulas Santos, Chair of the European Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development Affairs Committee of the Parliament of Portugal New CAP reflects core EP ambitions The new CAP: more powers to Member to be more redistributive, greener States for tailor made solutions will and socially just mean greater accountability needsfor By Derek Meijers and Gaston Moonen national parliaments By Gaston Moonen 117108 121 Meeting young farmers’ ambitions: Biodiversity and CAP reform - the a condition for the success of the more things change, the more they new CAP remain the same By Diana Lenzi, European Council of Young By Harriet Bradley and Ariel Brunner, BirdLife Farmers (CEJA) Europe and Central Asia 117 Meeting young farmers’ ambitions: a condition for REACHING OUT the success of the new CAP 136 RESPECT in the workplace – ECA addressing a key By Diana Lenzi, European Council of Young Farmers (CEJA) corporate value 121 Biodiversity and CAP reform - the more things By Ibolya Rajka, Human Resources Directorate change, the more they remain the same 138 Bringing the ECA’s work to the stakeholders in By Harriet Bradley and Ariel Brunner, BirdLife Europe and Poland Central Asia By Kinga Wiśniewska-Danek, cabinet of Marek Opiola, ECA 126 Foresight and audit EU strategic autonomy - what Member role for agriculture and… for audit? 140 Tribunal de Contas of Portugal and ECA organise a By Derek Meijers joint conference on EU issues in Lisbon 130 New ECA Members Being an ECA ambassador for By Gaston Moonen transparency and accountability FOCUS Interview with Marek Opiola, ECA Member since 1 February 2021 143 ECA publications in May/July 2021 By Gaston Moonen 147 NEXT EDITION 4 Editorial by Gaston Moonen The new CAP – business as usual or stepping stone to the Big Reset? Many people will associate agriculture and farming with the nostalgic image of fields of cows separated by hedges, a flock of sheep blocking a country road, a meandering river, small villages with local markets, nature and quietness - less stress. No wonder that a television programme such as ‘Farmer wants a wife’ on Dutch television (known in other countries under a less stereotype name, such as ‘L’amour est dans le pré,’) is so popular. This longing for an idyllic countryside has become even more prominent during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the search for nature and space has only increased. As a farmer’s son, I know that the reality of farming can be far from nostalgic these days. Hard work has always been a part of most farmers’ lives, for many a way of life – often seven days a week. And also, during the last decades, part of a life increasingly driven by a scaling up of production to make a living, to meet the price constraints imposed by the market. Agricultural production has become increasingly industrialised with large agro-industrial conglomerates calling the shots. My grandfather’s then sizable farm, over five decades ago, with, among other things, 20 cows, is no comparison anymore with the industrialised farm of my cousin, with over 700 cows. Upscaling has led to specialisations in which monocultures instead of diversity dominate. In parallel, expenditure on groceries has decreased – relatively – in most European citizens’ budget, while the choice of food products from all over the world has increased. But this grobalisation – homogeneous growth – comes at a certain cost in other areas, becoming more tangible every day. With temperatures of 50° Celsius even in Canada, something that used to be a clear yet distant danger called climate change has there become a clear and present danger for farmers and non-farmers alike. Agriculture and rural development have always been an important part of our society. From ensuring food supply, food autonomy and stable farmers’ incomes in the early days of the EU, to food quality and preventing depopulation of rural areas with the most recent EU Common Agricultural Policies (CAP), the CAP is the longest serving EU policy and one of the largest in terms of expenditure under the EU budget. Most of these objectives inspired the Commission’s initial proposals drawn up from 2017 onwards. And they still make sense, as can be seen in times of crisis, when empty shelves in supermarkets are clear signs of everybody’s basic needs. However, soon these objectives were at least equalled, if not superseded, by other objectives, reflected in the European Green Deal and more specifically in the Farm to Fork Strategy and Biodiversity Strategy presented by the European Commission in 2020. This only goes to show again that agricultural policies, like many other policies, cannot be designed in splendid isolation but need to be congruent with many other policy areas, certainly with climate action. If those other policy area objectives are not achieved, farmers are among the first groups to suffer the consequences.