EU: Defoliating the sunflower daisy and protein crops in the future CAP

Published Sep 24, 2022

Tridge summary

The article addresses the European Commission's controversial decision to exclude oilseeds from the aid for protein crops under the new CAP strategic plans, a move that contradicts historical practices and the recent surge in sunflower planting due to the Ukraine crisis. Pedro Medina, Deputy Minister of PAC and Rural Development, criticizes this decision for its late communication and inconsistency with previous reports that acknowledged oilseeds' significant contribution to the EU's plant protein supply. Furthermore, the article highlights the challenges in enhancing the competitiveness, sustainability, and quality of oilseeds, exacerbated by bureaucratic complexities and technical arguments that seem contradictory. This situation is complicated by the final text of Article 33 of the Regulation on the CAP strategic plans, which differentiates between oilseed types, adding another layer of difficulty in providing support to the oilseed sectors.

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Original content

Pedro Medina. Deputy Minister of PAC and Rural Development At the end of June, just when the sunflower began to bloom in Castilla y León, we learned the surprising news that oilseeds could not be included in the aid for protein crops, and thus qualify for the 2% additional funding reserved for these and recognized in article 96 of EU Regulation 2021/2115 on strategic plans of the new CAP. At that time, the Ministry of Agriculture verbally conveyed to us the observation that the European Commission services had made regarding the initial version of Spain's Strategic Plan (PEPAC) and that its legal services had considered it as such. The observation made has left us with a smile on our lips, both for the when and the what, as well as the how. Thus, regarding when, it does not seem very professional that it was necessary to practically use the injury time to give the red card to sunflower, rapeseed, camelina, soybeans and other oilseeds; especially if we consider that these crops, ...

Source: Campocyl