Organization of the Direct Payments after 2013

R. Popov

Abstract: The direct payments are the tool for the achievement of over 80 % of the agricultural support. This is the reason for the importance of the assessment of the consequences to the European Commission proposals for the introduction of new elements in the distribution and structure of the direct payments for the period after 2013. The aim of the present report is to analyze the stated changes, to outline the Bulgarian vision about them and make specific proposals for the most problematic issues of the direct payments. The actual Commission’s proposal is to achieve a fairer distribution of the national packages nearing the levels of support through the state aid. The proposal for the achievement of this aim for the countries with public support lower than 90 % of the average for the EU is to increase it for the period with 1/3 of this difference. This re-distribution will be funded proportionally from the national packages with payments per ha, higher than the average for the EU. This manner of acting is unreliable for the new member states. The alternative vision is to add up additional direct payments to the average level of the EU, which will equalize the support per an area unit. Bulgaria is concerned in a higher flexibility of the direct payments organization for a more even distribution of the support among the particular sub sectors. The national co-payments to the direct payments create certain opportunities in this respect. They correspond to the specific conditions in the country in its particular regions and contribute to the preservation of important agricultural activities, allow to overcome at a certain extent some of the support insufficiencies, based on the payment of direct aids per an area unit, and contribute as a whole for the more balanced and harmonic development of Bulgarian agriculture. The introduction of a “green” component in the direct payments shouldn’t bring to a new inequality in the support of the countries and the farmers, neither to an administrative burden increase of the agricultural policy. The question of the assessment of the ecologic component is opened and Bulgaria is strongly concerned in clarifying it. Bulgarian agriculture will be considerably impacted by the introduction of a limit of support for the huge farms. Ultimately to the Bulgarian interests corresponds a high upper limit of support. The important economic, social, ecologic and cultural role of the small sized farms fully justifies the support for their preservation and their compatibility through the direct payments.

Keywords: CAP; competitiveness; direct payments; national complements

Date published: 2018-01-31