The Commission has published without fanfare on its MFF website the breakdown of national pre-allocated ceilings for direct payments and rural development for the coming 2021-2027 programming period as well as their scheduling over the seven-year period. These figures are based on the European Council’s MFF conclusions in July 2020 and assume that these conclusions will eventually receive the approval of the European Parliament. As I write this, this is not a foregone conclusion. Talks between the German Presidency and the Parliament negotiators on the MFF package made no progress yesterday evening despite an attempt by the Presidency to break the logjam by offering to find additional funds for budget lines supported by the Parliament at a mid-term review of the MFF. The next opportunity for a breakthrough is next Wednesday 14 October when the negotiators have agreed to meet again.
In my previous post, I pointed out that the absence of these figures was the main reason the Council and Parliament negotiators could only reach a partial common position on the CAP transition regulation in June this year.… Read the rest