Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1315450
9 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 6 DECEMBER 2020 NEWS NICOLE MEILAK MALTA'S farming authorities say they have secured a deroga- tion at EU governmental level, in hope of clawing back €3 mil- lion in funds for famer that were 'lost' in a reform package voted on by MEPs. The European Parliament failed to obtain a derogation that has allowed Malta to allocate €3 million in "voluntary coupled support" for farmers. But Malta's agricultural min- istry policy direct Bjorn Azzo- pardi, told MaltaToday that the derogation remains incorpo- rate within a concluding text by the European Council – where prime ministers hammer out the EU's final decisions – even though the European Parlia- ment's proposal completely omits the €3 million annual sup- port Malta enjoyed in the 2014- 2020 CAP strategy. In the EU, both the European Parliament and the European Council each have their own proposal of how the next sev- en-year Common Agricultural Policy should be financed. With only six Maltese MEPs in a parliament of 705, obtaining special safeguards for the small Maltese agricultural sector is al- ways a struggle against the loud- er demands of larger member states. But Azzopardi said that inside the Council, progress made has had more success. "With every member state enjoying equal standing during Council meet- ings, the ministry for Agriculture managed to secure derogations and provisions better suited to Malta's agricultural industry, such as increased flexibility be- tween the CAP funding pillars." The absence of the derogation in the reformed CAP proposal was a major point of contention brought up by Labour MEP Al- fred Sant in the European Parlia- ment, who argued that the omis- sion of the derogation would lead to the definite collapse of the Maltese agricultural sector – it was for this reason that he voted against the parliamentary proposal. The Ministry for Ag- riculture has since assured that the derogation is not a lost cause, and efforts have been made to safeguard funding for the dairy, meat, and tomato for process- ing sectors – all bulwarks of the Maltese agricultural industry. The next step in the policy pro- cess is for Parliament and Coun- cil to defend their own propos- als, and dialogue with the EU's executive – the European Com- mission – through the trialogues mechanism, an informal set of negotiations between the three entities in the hope of fast-track- ing the legislation. "We have been holding bilat- eral meetings with the Europe- an Parliament's rapporteur and shadow rapporteur of the CAP Strategic Plans Regulation in the hope of convincing Parliament to compromise on a common text throughout the trialogues, while also holding meetings with Maltese MEPs so that they can exert influence within their party groups," Azzopardi told MaltaToday. Europe is still far from seeing a finalised farming strategy any- time soon. While the trialogues are in their initial phases, the document will not be complet- ed until at least mid-2021, with months of trialogue expected in the run-up. "Government will be trying to exert influence in Brussels, but only the Commission holds the final say on the derogation," Az- zopardi said. With only six Maltese MEPs in a parliament of 705, obtaining special safeguards for the small Maltese agricultural sector is always a struggle against the louder demands of larger member states Hope for Malta farmers over €3m fund in EU Council