Posts Tagged ‘Matteo Bartolini’

MF: Why do we need a simplification of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)?

MB: The CAP is one of the European Union’s most far-reaching, complicated and intricate policies. More importantly, it is one of the EU’s most ‘common’ policies, spanning different geographical areas, landscapes, soil types and farming traditions. Not only that, but it is a policy which provides different amounts of income support to every single eligible farmer in the Union. This, understandably, makes it a lengthy and complex policy which can sometimes cause administrative burden for Member States, businesses and individual farmers. Therefore, it is essential that CAP Simplification is explored extensively. Now that the new CAP has been in place since the beginning of the year, the EU institutions want to look through what has been agreed and where improvements can be made, as well as what can be done better next time.

MF: What is the background to CAP simplification?

MB: The European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Phil Hogan, has identified CAP Simplification as one of his priorities for 2015. This is also in the context of the new Commission’s Work Programme, headed up by Commission President Juncker, which highlights ‘Better Regulation’ as a core objective for EU policy. A first action plan on CAP Simplification was published in 2006, and since then there has been an ongoing CAP Simplification exercise. At the outset, the exercise will focus mostly on delegated and implementing acts, which help to put in place the detailed rules needed to implement the reformed CAP. Commissioner Hogan has already said that he will review the rules on environmental focus areas among more than 200 other Commission regulations that will be considered for simplification.

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Among the highlights of 2014 was the official launch of the CEJA-Massey Ferguson partnership. CEJA President, Matteo Bartolini (left) is pictured here with Richard Markwell, Massey Ferguson Vice-President and Managing Director Europe/Africa/Middle East at MF’s Vision of the Future event in Beauvais, France.

MF: Would you say that 2014 was a year of maintaining the momentum of CEJA’s work?

MB: 2014 has been a crucial year for CEJA. Following the achievements made in 2013 with the inclusion of a mandatory measure for young farmers in the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), it was essential that we ensured the implementation of this historic political agreement in an effective and concrete manner. In a similar vein, it was also important that we made use of the momentum that the CAP reform negotiations had given CEJA the previous year, and that we maintained an increasing amount of visibility and awareness of the age crisis in European farming. This was despite the retreat that agriculture, due to the end of CAP discussions, made from the central position it had been occupying in EU current affairs for the last two years. Progress has been  made on the policy front even beyond the remits of the CAP, including  putting the need to strengthen EU policy for young farmers at centre stage within the agricultural priorities of the Italian Presidency.

MF: What else was notable in 2014?

MB:  2014 witnessed the official launch of the CEJA-Massey Ferguson partnership. Among several joint events, we held a CEJA working group at the MF tractor plant in Beauvais, France. The event also included a tour of the tractor production facilities for a number of leading young farmers from across the EU. 2014 saw the end of an era as the previous European Commissioner for Agriculture, Dacian Cioloş, was replaced by Irishman Phil Hogan. In addition,  we saw an array of newly-elected MEPs take their seats on the Committee for Agriculture and Rural Development in the European Parliament. As well as this, CEJA welcomed a new Secretary General a year ago to assist what was then the newly-elected Board, with me at the helm as the new President. Despite all these changes, CEJA accomplished a number of achievements over the last 12 months and I am proud to say that the issue of young farmers was still high on the political agenda right through to the end of 2014.

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In this month’s regular column from CEJA (European Council of Young Farmers), President, Matteo Bartolini discusses the prospects under the new regime.

Jean-Claude Juncker

MF: Can you give us a brief description of the role of the European Commission?

MB: This is the EU’s executive body and stands for the interests of Europe as a whole. It is led by one President and 27 Commissioners (one from each of the 28 EU member states), known as the ‘College of Commissioners’ which meets once a week. A new team of Commissioners is appointed every five years, with the next one due to start their term on 1 November 2014. The President-Elect Jean-Claude Juncker has already been nominated by the Council, elected by the European Parliament and has, in turn, chosen all 27 nominees from candidates put forward by their member states and assigned them a policy area. This list must now be approved by the European Parliament.

MF: What is Jean-Claude Juncker’s background?

MB: Mr Juncker is an experienced politician with 17 years as Luxembourg’s Prime Minister under his belt as well as institutional experience in terms of his background as President of the Eurogroup. He is said to be an idealist and European federalist, but also a deal-broker with a knack for achieving consensus. The President of the Commission is arguably the most influential position of all institutional jobs, considering that the European Commission has the sole right of initiation of all EU law. However, there is a close second in the form of the President of the Council. This is a leader who sets the agenda for the work of the European Council and brokers consensus between member states. A few weeks ago, Donald Tusk, Poland’s Prime Minister, was elected by the Council to be the head of the Euro Summit as well as Council President.

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If you would like to get in touch with Mr. Bartolini or CEJA, email allusers@ceja.eu.

Massey Ferguson, a worldwide brand of AGCO (NYSE: AGCO) is pleased to announce the full partnership of the European Council of Young Farmers at its Vision of the Future event in Beauvais, France, 19-29 August 2014.

The farm machinery manufacturer is already a key sponsor of CEJA, which represents around two million European young farmers, and is working closely with the group in support of a range of projects at international, regional and local level.

CEJA conference at Vision of the Future 2014

Joining CEJA President, Matteo Bartolini in speaking at Vision of the Future were CEJA Vice-Presidents, Paola del Castillo, Matthias Daun, Alan Jagoe, and Laurent Poirier who made presentations in their native languages to the variety of international audiences attending over the ten days of the event.

“Vision of the Future is a wonderful opportunity for CEJA to meet farmers and promote a greater understanding of our work in Europe,” said Matteo Bartolini. “We are dedicated to the future of farming and the role of young people in its development. This event is a melting pot of new and innovative ideas, something which we relish as an organisation.”

Commenting, Campbell Scott, Massey Ferguson Director Sales Engineering and Brand Development said: “We are delighted that CEJA is partnering us at our showcase event. The young generation is the engine of innovation and fully comprehends the value of change. This is the inspiration behind MF’s partnership with CEJA – a relationship we hope to consolidate further into the future.”

In his keynote speech on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), Matteo Bartolini said: “The reformed CAP 2014-2020 promises to be ‘fairer’, ‘greener’ and ‘younger’, and, for the first time in the history of the CAP, we had the introduction of a mandatory measure for all Member States targeted only at young farmers under the direct payments Pillar,” he remarked.

“But our job is not done! We need to continue to find ways to assist young people to progress in agriculture. Young farmer numbers are still very low despite their increased productivity in comparison to older counterparts. Only 7.5% of European farmers are under the age of 35, and one third are over 65! We need to help young farmers to overcome the barriers of access to land, capital and credit and give wings to the ambitions of our young European entrepreneurs.”

“Generational renewal has to be at the heart of public policies, as this is the only way to ensure sustainable food production and respond to increasing food demand in the future,” said Matteo. “With its work, CEJA makes sure that the voice of young farmers is heard by all Brussels-based policy-makers and that young farmers are at the centre of discussions on future farming policy developments.”

CEJA co-ordinates seminars, conferences, public debates and written reports, and directs the concerns of young farmers towards the European institutions.

A regular column from CEJA is published every month on the Massey Ferguson web site: www.masseyferguson.com

In this month’s regular column from CEJA (European Council of Young Farmers), President, Matteo Bartolini explains what the EU is doing to support farmers following the import ban by Russia on EU food products.

MF: Can you provide some background on the Russian ban on EU food products?

MB: On 6 August 2014, the Kremlin published a decree announcing a Russian embargo on a number of agricultural imports in response to EU punitive sanctions over Russia’s actions in Ukraine. American, Norwegian, Canadian and Australian imports are faced with the same fate. Russia is the largest importer of EU agricultural produce with just under 10% of EU agri imports destined for the country. These imports were worth around €11 billion last year, half of which has now been banned by the Russians. The ban, which has been set for a year, will hit individual European farmers in particular, especially those who rely on export markets and who grow a small variety of produce. The ban will also hit Russian consumers with price hikes for certain products. The European Commission has been quick to try to support EU farmers with emergency measures. However, it is clear that funds available are simply not enough.

MF: What do these emergency measures include?

MB: The first measures outlined were to assist peach and nectarine producers and consisted of decreasing the volumes of fruit available on the market in an attempt to avoid plummeting prices.Extra funds are also being provided for promotion. Peach growers have been hit particularly hard. Indeed, such measures were already under discussion before the announcement of the Russian ban. The weather this year has contributed to an increase in supply but also a rapid advancement in maturity. This led to a much greater intensity of supply at the start of the season rather than a more even spread over the following weeks. Cooler and more humid conditions in June and July also slowed down consumption during this time. The budget for these measures is €29.7 million for withdrawals and €3 million for promotion, allocated to Italy, Spain, Greece and France on the basis of annual production.

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If you would like to get in touch with Mr. Bartolini or CEJA, email allusers@ceja.eu.