44 Amendments of Othmar KARAS related to 2018/2037(INI)
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 a (new)
Citation 10 a (new)
– having regard to the report and conclusions from November 2016 of the Agricultural Market Task Force “Improving Market Outcomes - Enhancing the Position of Farmers in the Supply Chain”,
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the Commission’s communication on the Future of Food and Farming acknowledges that the common agricultural policy (CAP) is the most integrated policy in the EU and of global strategic importance and is enabling the EU farming sector to respond to citizens’ demands regarding not only food security, safety, quality and sustainability, but also environmental care, climate change action and high animal welfare standards;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the European Union’s overarching objective of multifunctional agriculture and forestry, driven by family farms, remains key to delivering the positive externalities and public goods that European citizens demand;
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the new delivery model (NDM) is at the core of the Commission’s communication on the Future of Food and Farming, and is to be welcomed, provided that it ensures genuine simplification, not only at EU level but also at, Member State level and regional level, and flexibils well as genuine simplification, flexibility and legal security for farmers, without adding new constraints on Member States on its implementation and thus a new layer of complexity;
Amendment 178 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas there is a need for an updated and fairersimple system of payments, as in many Member States the current system of entitlements is based on historic benchmarks which are now almost 20 years old and which constitute an obstacle to generational renewal and hinder young farmers’ access to farmland, as new entrants do not possess entitlements and are thus at a disadvantage that reduces the obstacles regarding the initiation of agricultural cultivation such as through historic payments and supports young farmers’ access to farmland;
Amendment 189 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas there is a need for an updated and fairsimpler system of payments, as in many Member States the current system of entitlements is based on historic benchmarks which are now almost 20 years old and which constitute an obstacle to generational renewal and hinder young farmers’ access to farmland, as new entrants do not possess entitlements and are thus at a disadvantage;
Amendment 218 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas the emergence of new challenges, such as increasing global trade, is necessitating fair and sustainable conditions for the global exchange of goods and services, within the framework of the WTO and in accordance with existing EU social, economic and environmental standards, which should be promoted, preserving European consumers by ensuring European standards in trade agreement for imported goods and backing up limited voluntary coupled support as WTO-green-box conform;
Amendment 230 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
J. whereas while the focus on research and development facilitated by EU-wide extension services for both product and process innovation is to be welcomed, more must be done to translate the results of research into farming practice, facilitated by EU-wide agricultural extension services; with the farmer at its centre and by knowledge exchange and training services at Member State level;
Amendment 277 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L
Recital L
L. whereas the European Court of Auditors has underlined the fact that the green payments introduced as part of the 2013 reform create added complexity and bureaucracy, are difficult to understand, and fail to signiaccording to the ECA opinion do not sufficaiently enhance the CAP’s environmental and climate performance due to its design;
Amendment 294 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M
Recital M
M. whereas the objectives of the Cork 2.0 Declaration for a Better Life in Rural Areas stipulate vibrant rural areas, multi- functionality, biodiversity in and outside agriculture and forestry, rare animal breeds and conservation crops, as well as organic agriculture, less-favoured areas and commitments in the context of Natura 2000;
Amendment 311 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital N
Recital N
N. whereas it is essential to ensure fair competition within the single market within the sector and with other players in the food chain, both up and downstream, and to further strengthen incentives to prevent crises with active management tools to be deployed at sectoral level and by public authorities as pointed out in the report of the Agricultural Market Task Force;
Amendment 332 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital P
Recital P
P. whereas any changes to the current CAP must be introduced in such a way as to ensure stability for the sector and security of planning and legal security for farmers by means of adequate transition periods and measures;
Amendment 383 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Points out that even the flexibility (e.g., voluntary coupled payments) that Member States currently enjoy in defining basic rules may risk distorting competition within the single market and granting unequal access to support for famers in different Member States or even in different regions;
Amendment 408 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Considers that greater subsidiarity for Member States should only be granted within a common set of rules and tools agreed at EU level as part of a uniform approach to all programming efforts and eligibility criteria, and should basically cover both of the CAP’s pillars and ensure, in particular, a European approach in Pillar I and, while ensuring the ECA's agreement to thuis a level playing fieldgreater subsidiarity;
Amendment 445 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Welcomes the efforts of the Commission to establish programme design, implementation and control of an output-bas orientated approach of voluntary measures in order to foster performance rather than compliance, with strict rules and sanctions in case of non-compliance while ensuring adequate monitoring via clearly defined, solid and measurable indicators at EU level, including an appropriate system of quality control and penalties with a strong emphasis on incentives to farmers;
Amendment 497 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Calls on the Commission to grant more flexibility to Member States and regions within the framework of thea higher financial frame for agricultural de minimis rules; at farm level;
Amendment 522 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Considers it necessary to maintain the current two-pillared architecture, particularly Pillar I, which is dedicated to income support for farmerbecause Pillar I constitutes an efficient support to income and form of risk protection for farmers and Pillar II meets specific needs of Member States; considers it however necessary, at the same time, to compensate for the provision of public goods on the basis of uniformrespect to both new and established practices in farming based on common, uniform and objective criteria, while allowing Member States to take specific approaches to reflect local conditions;
Amendment 564 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Considers that the current and future CAP architecture can only deliver its objectives if sufficiently funded; calls, therefore, for the CAP budget to be maintained in the next MFF at at least the current level in order to achieve the ambitions of a revised and efficient CAP beyond 2020;
Amendment 573 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. is of the opinion that a further market liberalisation and the associated reduction of protection for farmers entails the need for compensation for the agricultural sector and in particular those farms facing competitive disadvantages - especially difficulties related to agricultural land use or in mountainous areas - and that only such measures can ensure extensive agricultural land management and the preservation of the cultural landscape;
Amendment 632 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Believes that more targeted support for family farms is necessary and can be achieved by introducing a compulsory further developing for Member States a higher support rate for small farms; considers, moreover, that support for larger farms should be digressive, reflecting economies of scale, with the possibility a uniform capping to be decided by the Member Stateshroughout the EU;
Amendment 652 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Underlines the necessity of identifying the key elements of a transparent and, simple, objective and operational system of penalties and incentives for determining farmers’ eligibility for public fundingfarmers’ with a stronger emphasis on the latter, which should consist of voluntary and mandatory measures;
Amendment 674 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls for the existing system for calculating direct payments in Pillar I, which is often based on historic entitlements, to be replaced by an EU-wide uniform method of calculating single area based payments, in order to make the system simpler and more transparent;
Amendment 700 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Requests from the Commission to examine the necessity of payment claims as regards compatibility with WTO rules;
Amendment 752 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Stresses the need for a fair and balanced distribution of direct payments between Member States, which must take into account socio-economic differences, and different production costs and the amounts received by Member States under Pillar II;
Amendment 776 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Believes that, provided that a level playing field in the single market can be guaranteed, voluntary coupled support (VCS) payments should be maintained, as a tool to counteract specific difficulties, particularly those arising from the structural competitive disadvantage, e.g. of less- favoured and mountainous regions, as well as those which are more temporary in nature and arise from a shift away from the old entitlement scheme, for example;
Amendment 834 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Recalls that generational renewal is a challenge faced by famers in many Member States and that each national strategy must therefore address this issue through a comprehensive approach, including top-ups in Pillar I and targeted measures in Pillar II, as well as by means of new financial instruments and national measures, in order to incentivise famers to pass on their farming operations;
Amendment 896 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Underlines the importance of rural development, including the LEADER initiativprimary for agriculture, in supporting multi-functional agriculture and forestry and in fostering additional entrepreneurial activities and opportunities, in order to generate income from agri- tourism, and to secure community- supported agriculture andthrough diversification measures (e.g., agri- tourism) or the provision of social services in rural areas;
Amendment 948 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Calls on the Commission to introduce a new and comprehensive legal framework which allows the integration of the various typesa coherent implementation of environmental and climate actions at present, such as greening, cross compliance, greening and the good agricultural and environmental conditions ( (including GAEC) standards, as well as agri-environment-climate measures (AECMs) for rural development, so that farmers can deliver effectively and with less bureaucracy at farm level on environmental care, biodiversity and climate action, while ensuring that Member States have adequate control and taking into account local conditions and continuing a clear separation of measures under Pillar I and II;
Amendment 998 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Believes that this new framework should be underpinned by the possible allocation of a minimum amount of the total available budget in Pillar II to AECMs, including organic agriculture, forestry, support for biodiversity and genetic diversity in animals and plants;
Amendment 1002 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Amendment 1035 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Calls on the Commission to foster innovation and modernisation in agriculture by supportingand forestry by supporting knowledge exchange, training and agricultural extension as a pre-condition in programme design and implementation in all Member States, while fostering the transfer of know-how and the exchange of best practice models between Member States;
Amendment 1057 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Calls for an overarching and pressing simplification and reduction of the administrative burden of the CAP for farmers including a claim-supporting use of new technologies;
Amendment 1093 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Calls on the Commission to maintainwiden and further develop the current common market organisation (CMO) framework, including the individual sector plans (wine, and fruit and vegetables) and the EU school fruit, vegetables and milk scheme, with the ultimate aim of strengthening the sustainability and competiveness of each sector while enabling access for all farmers;
Amendment 1107 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)
Paragraph 20 a (new)
20a. Considers measures that foster quality, innovation, regionality, education, entrepreneurial thinking and the cooperation between farmers as an important added value in order to strengthen the role of farmers within the value chain;
Amendment 1114 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 b (new)
Paragraph 20 b (new)
20b. Underlines the important role of actively managed forests for the adaption of forests to climate change and the use of the renewable resource wood for the reduction of anthropogenic carbon, in line with the content of the Paris Agreement;
Amendment 1118 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 c (new)
Paragraph 20 c (new)
20c. Highlights the significance of the forest-wood-value chain for sustaining rural livelihood, the creation of jobs, growth and social stability in rural areas, as well as its contribution to a decentralized energy supply and the creation of new value chains in accordance with circular bio economy;
Amendment 1120 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 d (new)
Paragraph 20 d (new)
20d. Underlines the crucial role of forest owner associations as platforms for information and innovation transfer, for the training and further education of small scale forest owners and the implementation of active multifunctional forest management;
Amendment 1140 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Insists on the critical need for the future CAP to support farmers more efficiently in order to cope with price and income volatility due to climate, health and market risks, by creating additional incentives forwithin existing possibilities for the use of flexible risk management and stabilisation tools while ensuring broad access;
Amendment 1155 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Draws attention to the fact that market risks can also be managed by improved market access for EU agriculture and food products in export markets;
Amendment 1182 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Insists on the necessity of strengthening the position of producers within the food supply chain, in particular by guaranteeing them a fair share of the added value, by fostering inter-sectoral cooperation, and strengthening transparency in the markets and crisis prevention, as recommended by the Agricultural Markets Task Force with special regard to combating unfair trading practices all along the food chain;
Amendment 1206 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Calls on the Commission to allow and indeed encourage – particularlye.g., in the dairy sector – active crisis management instruments, such as voluntary sector agreements to manage supply in quantitative terms among producers, producers organisations and processors, and to examine the possibility of extending such instruments to other sectors;
Amendment 1218 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Calls for an in-depth review of the current crisis reserve mechanism in order to create an independent financial instrument exempt from the budgetary principle of annuality, so as to permit budgetary transfers from one year to the next, thereby enabling quick and effective responses to crisis situations, including those involving animal and plant health, disease-related issues and food safthat provides quicker and more effective responses to crisis situations, in agricultural, food and feed marketys;
Amendment 1236 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Believes that while trade agreements are beneficial to the EU agricultural sector overall, and necessary for strengthening the EU’s position on the global agricultural market, they also pose a number of challenges that require reinforced safwhen farmers in the EU and other farmers in the rest of the world face unequal conditions - in particular reguard mechanisms to ensure a level playing field between farmers in the EU and in the rest of the worlding environmental, animal welfare and social standards; is of the opinion that these differences needed to be better taken into account when concluding trade agreements and that these should not lead to a deterioration of high European standards; emphasises that adequate mechanisms for the protection of European agriculture are necessary;
Amendment 1275 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Calls for the European Commission to launch initiatives to promote and defend EU production, safety and environmental standards and quality production schemes, which could be achieved inter alia through both labelling and marketing activities on internal and third-country markets;