Overview of the Work of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development during the 2009-2014 legislative term COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT Juin 2014 TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD 5 INTRODUCTION 7 HIGHLIGHTS 7 REPORTS HANDLED BY THE COMMITTEE 9 THE COMMON AGRICULTURAL POLICY (CAP) 9 THE DAIRY FARMING SECTOR 16 QUALITY SCHEMES, ORGANIC PRODUCTS AND PROMOTION MEASURES 18 ANIMAL HEALTH AND WELFARE 21 PLANT HEALTH, FORESTRY AND HORTICULTURE 24 FOOD SECURITY AND THE FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN 27 AGRICULTURE IN SPECIFIC AREAS OF THE EU 30 FINANCING AND STATISTICAL DATA 32 MISCELLANEOUS 35 OPINIONS HANDLED BY THE COMMITTEE 37 ORAL QUESTIONS 45 DELEGATIONS 45 HEARINGS 46 INTERPARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE MEETINGS 50 WORKSHOPS AND STUDIES PRODUCED BY THE POLICY DEPARTMENT IPOL B AT THE REQUEST OF THE AGRI COMMITTEE 51 LIST OF MEMBERS AND SUBSTITUTES 58 THE SECRETARIAT 70 4 FOREWORD Prefazione del signor Paolo De Castro Questo volume raccoglie le principali attività e iniziative realizzate dalla commissione agricoltura e sviluppo rurale che ho avuto l’onore di presiedere durante l’intero corso della VII legislatura europea. L’avvio della nuova legislatura è coinciso con la chiusura del processo di ratifica del Trattato di Lisbona e l’entrata in vigore della procedura della codecisione, che ha assegnato al Parlamento Europeo nuovi poteri e nuove competenze nell’ambito dei processi legislativi. Tra le politiche trattate la Politica Agricola Comunitaria, appena riformata, ha sottolineato il ruolo che il Parlamento Europeo ha rivestito nella collaborazione all'elaborazione dei testi definitivi della riforma garantendo agli agricoltori e ai cittadini europei un nuovo quadro di riferimento per lo sviluppo di un settore che è cruciale in termini economici, ambientali e sociali. Non ci siamo occupati solo della riforma della PAC, ma di una serie di altre tematiche quali le nuove regole contrattuali della filiera lattiero-casearia e la rinnovata politica di qualità dei prodotti agricoli. Infine, non si può tralasciare l’importante ruolo consultivo e di controllo svolto dalla commissione agricoltura su determinate materie di portata strategica, come la sicurezza alimentare, la gestione delle emergenze alimentari e gli impegni a sostegno del benessere degli animali, dei cittadini indigenti e delle crisi di mercato. In definitiva, quelli trascorsi, sono stati cinque anni in cui il lavoro parlamentare è stato intenso all’interno di un percorso portato avanti con impegno e responsabilità per la realizzazione di risultati concreti a salvaguardia e tutela del sistema agricolo comunitario. Préface de M. Paolo De Castro Le présent document reprend les principales activités et initiatives de la commission de l'agriculturee et du développement rural que j'ai eu l'honneur de présider tout au long de la 7 législature du Parlement européen. Le début de la nouvelle législature coïncida avec l'achèvement du processus de ratification du traité de Lisbonne et l'entrée en vigueur de la procédure de codécision, qui confère au Parlement européen de nouveaux pouvoirs et de nouvelles compétences dans le cadre des processus législatifs. Parmi les politiques abordées, la politique agricole commune, qui vient d'être réformée, a mis en évidence le rôle joué par le Parlement européen dans l'élaboration des textes définitifs de la réforme, garantissant aux agriculteurs et aux citoyens 5 européens un nouveau cadre de référence pour le développement de ce secteur de premier plan, aux niveaux économique, environnemental et social. Nous nous sommes non seulement occupés de la réforme de la PAC, mais aussi d'une série d'autres thématiques, telles que le nouveau cadre contractuel de la filière laitière et la politique de qualité des produits agricoles révisée. Enfin, on ne peut ignorer le rôle important, aux niveaux consultatif et de contrôle, exercé par la commission de l'agriculture dans des domaines stratégiques précis tels que la sécurité alimentaire, la gestion des situations d'urgence alimentaire et les engagements en faveur du bien- être animal, des citoyens les plus démunis et des crises qui affectent le marché. En définitive, les cinq années écoulées ont été marquées par un travail parlementaire intense, mené avec engagement et responsabilité, en vue d’aboutir à des résultats concrets pour sauvegarder et protéger le système agricole communautaire. Foreword by Mr Paolo De Castro This document gives an overview of the main activities and initiatives of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, which it has been my privilege to chair, during the 7th term of the European Parliament. The beginning of that parliamentary term coincided with the completion of the Lisbon Treaty ratification process and application of the codecision procedure, giving Parliament new powers and remits in the legislative process in this area. It was perhaps the common agricultural policy and its recent reform that highlighted better than any other dossier the role played by Parliament, which helped draft the final texts on the reform and provide farmers and the European public with a new reference framework for the development of a sector that is crucial in economic, environmental and social terms. However, besides the reform of the CAP, we also addressed a range of other themes such as the new rules on contracts in the dairy sector and updating of the policy on agricultural product quality. Last but not least, the Committee played an important advisory and monitoring role in certain dossiers of strategic interest such as food safety, the management of food crises and commitments in support of animal welfare, the poorest members of society and market crises. In short, the past five years have been ones of intensive parliamentary work which the Committee has performed with diligence and responsibility, moving matters forward to achieve tangible results to protect and safeguard the EU's agricultural system. 6 INTRODUCTION The Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI) is primarily responsible for examining and, where necessary, amending the European Commission's legislative proposals by preparing reports on agricultural policy for subsequent adoption by the European Parliament in plenary. Under Annex VII of the Rules of Procedure, the Committee on Agriculture is responsible for: - the operation and development of the common agricultural policy; - the rural development, including the activities of the relevant financial instruments; - legislation on: a) veterinary and plant-health matters, animal feedingstuffs provided such measures are not intended to protect against risks to human health, b) animal husbandry and welfare; - the improvement of the quality of agricultural products; - supplies of agricultural raw materials; -the Community Plant Variety Office; - forestry. The powers and responsibilities of this committee are more important than ever now that, since the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon, the European Parliament has the power of codecision, with the Council of Agriculture Ministers, on the common agricultural policy (CAP). HIGHLIGHTS REFORM OF THE COMMON AGRICULTURAL POLICY The adoption of the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for 2014-2020 - the first CAP reform to be decided by co-decision - was without doubt the main challenge faced by the AGRI Committee and the European Parliament in the agricultural field during the 7th legislative term. Prior to the formal adoption of the proposal by the European Commission in October 2011, the Committee outlined its position by adopting a series of own-initiative reports in 2010 and 2011. In addition, during the autumn of 2011, the Committee organised a series of public events to discuss the Commission's proposals. During the same period, EP rapporteurs were named and started to work on the four main legislative proposals: Luis Manuel Capoulas Santos (S&D, PT) for the proposals related to direct aids to farmers and rural 7development support, Michel Dantin (EPP, FR) for the common organisation of the agricultural markets, and Giovanni La Via (EPP, IT) for the horizontal rules of the CAP including the financial rules. The rapporteurs presented their draft reports in the spring 2012. Not surprisingly, both the Commission proposals and the draft reports by the EP rapporteurs elicited a great deal of interest and in July 2012, almost 8 000 amendments - a record number in Parliament - were tabled by MEPs to the whole package prior to the vote in the AGRI Committee. Furthermore between April and June 2013, more than 40 trilogues were held between the Parliament, the Council, and the Commission in order to find a global agreement on the whole package. A political agreement was reached on most of the proposed elements of the reform on 26 June 2013 and a final agreement on the outstanding issues related to the negotiations on the Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2014-2020 was reached during a final trilogue meeting on 25 September 2013. Subsequently the legislative texts were formally approved by Parliament and Council in November-December 2013. THE DAIRY PACKAGE The dairy package (Rapporteur: James Nicholson, ECR - UK) agreed in December 2011 between Parliament and Council negotiators was the first major CAP file agreed under the codecision procedure introduced by the Lisbon Treaty. The key aim of this package, which was the institutions’ answer to the 2009 milk crisis, was to boost dairy farmers' bargaining power by giving them the tools to negotiate fairer contracts with dairies, and thus ensure fairer prices for the raw milk they produce and help them to prepare for the end of milk quotas in 2015. In 2013, these new rules were integrated into the new common market organisation in 2013 within the context of the CAP reform. QUALITY SCHEMES Another important piece of legislation adopted by the Parliament under the 7th legislature is the new regulation on quality schemes (Rapporteur: Iratxe García Pérez, S&D - ES). This regulation was agreed in plenary in September 2012, following a first- reading agreement with the Council. These new rules include simpler registration procedures for the European quality label schemes.