SPECIAL Citizens’ access to law DOSSIER and justice in Europe PAGES 9-17 PUBliSHed on THE occaSion of THE confeRence ORganiSed BY THE DelegaTion of FRencH BaRS in BRUSSelS EUROPOLITICS The European affairs daily Thursday 18 September 2008 N° 3598 36th year FOCUS CAP HEALTH CHECK Ditching a Presidency submits commissioner? compromise proposals By Célia Sampol By Luc Vernet considers that the objective of a better distribution of support between farm- To quote Jean-Claude Juncker, it does The initial suggestions submitted by ers can also be fulfilled by granting not seem realistic to think that the Lisbon the EU Presidency in the framework of member states a certain flexibility thanks Treaty can come into force before the negotiations on the Common Agricul- to the instruments proposed by the European elections in June 2009. It will tural Policy (CAP) ‘health check’ will be Commission. rather be “early 2010,” because “to be informally discussed by agriculture min- In particular, the implementation of able to come into force in June 2009, the isters during their session of 29 and 30 the reconciliation of payment levels or text should be ratified by all the member September in Brussels. regionalisation could also mobilise finan- states before late February”. They essentially aim to relax the provi- cial resources resulting from the decou- This was widely suspected, but coming sions proposed by the European Com- pling of aid anticipated in the frame- from the mouth of a man as experienced mission to improve the allocation of aid work of the ‘health check’. Likewise, and respected as the prime minister of and decouple aid which is still linked to member states will have the possibility Luxembourg and the president of the production or transformation, in order of increasing their reserve (difference Eurogroup, these words take on a more to grant specific aid to certain regions between the national budgetary ceiling resounding meaning. In this context, if the or sectors, manage risks and crises and and the total value of all payment enti- second Irish referendum really does not accompany the anticipated dismantling tlements granted) when the anticipated take place before the EU elections, that of dairy quotas. decoupling involves low amounts. means that the new European Parliament To ensure a better distribution of sup- Lastly, according to the French Presi- will be elected on the basis of the current port for farmers, the Commission pro- dency, a technical measure of simplify- Treaty of Nice and will be made up of 736 poses that member states move from a ing management of the single payment MEPs and not 751 as set out in Lisbon. single payment scheme based on his- scheme could be taken by opening up But, above all, and this is more compli- toric references to a regionalised system the possibility of creating “special single cated, it means that there will need to be or towards the reconciliation of the value payment entitlements”. an agreement on the reduced European of payment entitlements. Commission, including fewer members These two options raise both political DECOUPLING OF AID than member states, which would mean and technical difficulties and therefore The Presidency intends to anticipate, 26 commissioners maximum. require a sufficient period of preparation, on a case-by-case basis, together with the To resolve this sensitive point, there has considers the French Presidency of the Commission, an extension of the tran- been talk in EU circles that the country EU, which proposes that member states sition period towards the decoupling of that loses a commissioner should be the be able to decide by 1 August 2010 - and aid still linked to production and trans- one which holds the post of high repre- not 1 August 2009, as recommended by formation. sentative for foreign policy and security the Commission - whether to establish, The objective, it explains, is to ensure (currently Spain, with Javier Solana). as of the following year, regionalisa- sufficient visibility for the sectors con- Another institutional quick fix to resolve tion or the reconciliation of payment cerned and to maintain a transformation an EU deadlock. entitlements. industry in the regions where this is eco- At the same time, the Presidency nomically essential. 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