CAP Reform - Main contents

Press release

After a week marked by an AGRIFISH Council, two Trilogues and a Super Trilogue, the Minister of Agriculture, Maria do Céu Antunes, made a positive assessment of the progress made: “We have made progress in the negotiations, we have reached a good agreement principle and we are closer to complete this reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) by the end of the semester and thus guarantee essential predictability for farmers, national administrations and all European citizens”.

Signaling that, in this Super Trilogue, the Presidency presented negotiating compromise packages “with the objective of enabling a debate on the three regulations”, the minister stressed that “the very wide range of points that were agreed in this trilogue reveals commitment, cooperation and responsibility of the three institutions - Council, Commission and European Parliament - in implementing the CAP reform agreement during this semester. The vast majority of the proposals presented by the Portuguese Presidency, to approximate the positions of the Parliament, were confirmed, with a very constructive spirit of the parties”.

Underlining that “a set of principle agreements has been reached, which will be presented to member states for consideration next week” and that conditions have been created “to advance the debate on fundamental issues, green architecture and the social dimension”, holder of the Agriculture portfolio highlighted the consensus reached regarding, “namely, the new performance model, the orientation of support for direct payments, controls on conditionality and transparency in the application of funds.

In relation to the new performance model, there was an agreement in principle regarding the biennial periodicity, as well as the tolerance levels for the purposes of its review. An understanding was also obtained on the definition of the indicators to be used for the purposes of the performance model. Concerning the wine sector, understandings were reached, namely regarding the extension of the vine planting authorization regime until 2045 and the de-alcoholization rules. Also to reinforce the position of farmers in the value chain, there was an agreement principle to extend the possibility of supply management to all DOP and IGP products ”.

“Today was a good day for European agriculture." That was how Minister Maria do Céu Antunes concluded the statements made at the press conference that took place after the Super Trilogue, which brought together the three European institutions around the three regulations that make up the Common Agricultural Policy, recalling that “the Presidency will continue committed and open minded to continue working on building balance positions between the three institutions, in order to reach the final agreement on the reform of the CAP”.