Agriculture: Minister Capoulas Santos against subsidiarity to dismantle the CAP.
The agriculture minister said in Brussels that Portugal is against an excessive rise of the principle of subsidiarity in the future of the Common Agricultural Policy (PAC), fearing to be a “Trojan Horse” to definitively dismantle this policy “strategic”.
Andm Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of ministers of the European Union Agriculture, Luis Capoulas Santos pointed out that took place one second debate on the guidance document of the European Commission on the future of the CAP and the vast difference from the first discussion, a month ago, It is now “the majority of Member States” was placed “in the negotiation in the model recommended by the Commission, which brings some substantial changes, chief of which increased subsidiarity”.
The minister explained that “the Commission intends to transfer to the Member States most of the skills and the application of rules that are at European level, what being positive, since it gives more room for maneuver to Member States to define their measures, support levels and their control, poses the danger of a hypothetical future renationalisation”, something that worries Portugal.
“abstractly, no one is against the subsidiarity. What we are against is that subsidiarity can be excessive and may be the Trojan horse to start the final decommissioning of a policy that is a founding policy of the Union and which has been responsible for ensuring food supply quality, in quantity and affordable. And I think this is a strategic value that Europe can not do without”, he argued.
According Capoulas Santos, this is one of the matters on which Portugal, Spain and France reached an understanding, last week — at a meeting in Santa Cruz de Tenerife -, towards a common position, these three Member States will try to “to enlarge” to other countries, “in order to have a bargaining power as wide as possible”, especially from the time when there is already legislative proposals on the table, what should happen in June.
“We want to maintain a common character of the CAP. Naturally admitting, accepting and welcoming positive aspects of subsidiarity, we understand that these issues should focus especially on the environmental components of the CAP (…) But with regard to core issues, regulatory issues, we want the EU to maintain a common character of policies, to avoid that it can be a step towards renationalisation of the CAP and the end in the future”, reinforced.
Capoulas Santos stressed that “Another key demand is to maintain the agricultural budget”, Yeah “essential that the current envelope can be maintained, regardless of Brexit”, but this issue, admitted, “transcends the Ministers of Agriculture”, as the last word in terms of the Union's multiannual financial framework will be up to Heads of State and Government.
