‘We need to support our farmers to reach goals for society as a whole’
Interview with Julia Klöckner, German Minister of Food and Agriculture
With the delivery model envisaged in the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), Member States will have a large say in how they want to achieve the objectives laid out in the CAP agreement. All the more important to hear their views on what they think of the post- 2020 CAP and how it addresses their particular concerns. Julia Klöckner is Germany’s Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture and was directly involved in the negotiations, leading them during Germany’s Council Presidency in 2020. Below she provides some insights into what the agreement means for farmers in Germany.
By Gaston Moonen
A CAP agreement that is well-balanced
After many trialogue discussions the European Parliament, Council and European Commission reached an agreement on the new CAP on 28 June. What is your overall feeling towards the agreement and what is the most important element from the viewpoint of Member States in general and Germany in particular?
Julia Klöckner: It is good and important that the trialogue partners could reach a compromise after long negotiations. We support the package. Now the guidelines need to be implemented, for which we laid the foundation during our German presidency. There will be a change of systems in the CAP. More measures for greater environmental protection and climate change mitigation go hand in hand with economic perspectives for farmers and rural areas.
You were leading the discussions during the German Council Presidency. What would you identify as the main topic you made progress on during your Presidency and what will, in the end, be the main gain for German farmers from this CAP agreement?
Julia Klöckner: It was during the German presidency that the Council agreed on a general orientation for the CAP. The German presidency convinced other Member States that we need a mandatory minimum budget for EU-wide obligatory eco-schemes. 25 % of direct payments need to be reserved now. Farmers expect now — and rightly so — to generate income with their measures for environmental protection and climate change mitigation. With the agreement on the CAP, small and medium-sized farms will get more support, as well as young farmers. We also moved forward with our national legislation. That sent important signals for negotiations at European level
You are not only the Minister of Agriculture but also the Minister of Food, which might involve issues such as food safety and diet. What do you think your government can or should do to stimulate such a transition?
Julia Klöckner: If we want to couple productivity and sustainability to a greater degree, we need to provide our farmers with the right means: new technologies, new varieties of plants. Digital applications help to reduce the use of fertilizers and increase plant protection, but we also need more openness towards science to find promising breeding methods to make plants more resistant to pests and climate change. Of course, it must always be compliant with the precautionary principle.
Producing high-quality and regional food
One of the key items of discussion was to what extent CAP payments should be linked to climate and environment-related conditions, and in the end a compromise was reached. There has been some concern that these conditions might not be solid enough, in view of the discretion Member States have through their National Strategic Plans and the voluntary nature of the arrangements. What is your reaction to such concerns and do you see a major ‘green’ transition happening in farming in Germany once the new CAP is implemented from 2023 onwards?
Julia Klöckner: In Germany, we are setting the course: towards a domestic agriculture sector that is doing even more for environmental protection and climate change mitigation and can survive in competition. To me it is important that our farming families can secure their survival. That is the only option for them to continue producing high-quality and regional food. And this is what society expects them to do. A future-oriented agricultural sector that safeguards livelihoods on the one hand, and climate protection on the other, is not a contradiction. With our legislative package we are redesigning the CAP for the coming years in Germany, a real change of system is in the making. All direct payments, from the first euro onwards, will be linked to requirements for environmental protection and climate change mitigation. That means: there will be no support without performance . Those who are not actively participating in environmental protection and climate change mitigation will get lower direct payments.
We are now on a path that will bring about enormous change to agriculture and ask a lot of farmers. We need to follow this path with a sense of proportion. One thing is clear: we need to support our farmers to reach goals for society as a whole.
One of the EU’s strengths is its single market. The new CAP seems to be less centralised, with Member States having a large say in the new delivery model through their National Strategic Plans. Do you think this will impact the level playing field we had in the EU regarding agricultural subsidies?
Julia Klöckner: To me it is important that when we raise the requirements and standards for our European farmers it must not lead to competitive disadvantages for them or to relocation of production to third countries. In agricultural trade we therefore need to pay more attention to the different conditions under which food is produced. One thing is clear: our farmers need to remain competitive. Their main task is and will be to provide the population with safe and high-quality food — we all depend on it. Regional products require a farmer nearby who can make a living!
This article was first published on the 2/2021 issue of the ECA Journal. The contents of the interviews and the articles are the sole responsibility of the interviewees and authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Court of Auditors.
