CAP reform: European Commission adopts delegated acts

The European Commission adopted today the first package of delegated acts for the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) aiming at making the CAP fairer, greener and more targeted. Those texts supplement the four basic acts adopted on 13 December 2013 by the European Parliament and the Council for the reform of the CAP.

Dacian Cioloş, European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, said today: "The adoption of the Delegated Acts is the final hurdle, which will allow Member States to draft rules at national level, so that the reformed Common Agricultural Policy can be implemented. Now the Parliament and the Council have to take decision. I thank them for their valuable and constructive input all along the preparation of these acts. It is essential that Member States are in a position to adopt rules at national level very soon so that, ultimately, CAP reform is fully implemented as from January 2015, farmers are able to make decisions on what they will produce and how in the future and European citizens as a whole are able to benefit from an efficient new CAP".

The Delegated Acts have been thoroughly discussed with experts from the 28 Member States and from the European Parliament. Their adoption by the Commission opens a two-month period during which both the European Parliament and the Council will scrutinize the texts. In the absence of objections from both institutions1, the delegated acts will be published together with the corresponding implementing acts, so as to allow Member States to decide how to implement the reform of the CAP at national or regional level.

The ten delegated acts supplementing the four basic Regulations lay down rules in relation to:

-    direct payments,

-    integrated administration and control system and conditions for refusal or withdrawal of payments and administrative penalties applicable to direct payments, rural development support and cross compliance,

-    requirements related to the agricultural products benefiting from private storage aid,

-    fruit and vegetables and processed fruit and vegetables sectors,

-    aid for accompanying measures in the framework of a School Fruit and Vegetables Scheme,

-    support programmes in the sectors of olive oil and table olives,

-    measures under the national support programmes in the wine sector,

-    support for rural development,

-    paying agencies and other bodies, financial management, clearance of accounts, securities and use of euro,

-    public intervention expenditure.

Background

Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union allows the legislator (i.e. the European Parliament and the Council) to delegate to the Commission the power to adopt non-legislative acts of general application to supplement or amend non-essential elements of a legislative act (quasi-legislative acts). Legal acts adopted by the Commission in this way are referred to as "delegated acts" (Article 290(3)).

The Commission prepares and adopts delegated acts drawing on the expertise of, among others, the authorities of the Member States that ultimately will be responsible for the implementation of the acts, as well as on experts of the European Parliament.

Delegated acts are subject to the ex-post control by both the Council representing Member States and the European Parliament. Delegated Acts can only enter into force if no objection has been expressed by these two institutions – in effect, the two legislators have a veto power. In addition, the European Parliament or the Council may revoke the Commission's delegated powers at any stage.