If the negotiators strike a deal on Wednesday as expected, it must be rubber-stamped by the full parliament and EU governments before entering force on January 1 next year.Big Farm: Mobile Harvest is a farm simulator game that you can play online with friends, family, and farmers around the world. But governments and the Commission say that would effectively make the rules optional, and have argued for tougher sanctions. Farm groups have warned that the move could hit Europe’s food production.įarmers that don’t comply should only lose the 30 percent of payments linked to the new measures, the parliament has said. Governments and MEPs want to weaken the Commission’s proposal that farmers should leave 7 percent of their land fallow.

But they disagree on the precise measures and sanctions for non-compliance. EU officials involved in the talks say a compromise of 2017 or 2018 is the most likely outcome, depending on the precise conditions.Īll three institutions have agreed that 30 percent of future direct subsidies should be conditional on farmers taking steps to improve their environmental performance.

The Commission proposed an end to quotas in 2015, while governments would prefer 2017 and the parliament 2020. Some of the toughest issues in the reform were agreed by EU leaders in February, including the overall size of the farm budget and the share each country will receive.Īgriculture will consume nearly 40 percent of the bloc’s 960 billion euro (847 billion pounds) budget for 2014-2020 - the period covered by the reform - ensuring it remains the biggest single item of EU expenditure. Representatives from EU governments, the European Parliament and the European Commission will hold two days of talks in Luxembourg to agree the likely shape of the reform, before reconvening in Brussels on Wednesday to seek a final deal.

Many of the proposals are meant to make the 50-year-old common agricultural policy (CAP) more fair and environmentally friendly, to justify the huge sums paid to farmers each year.īut critics say EU politicians plan to reverse some of the progress made in previous CAP reforms and the proposals could harm Europe’s food security. An European Union flag flutters outside of the European Parliament in Brussels October 12, 2012.

Big farm: mobile harvest help