A level playing field and transparency two integrated

A level playing field and transparency - two integrated elements of a Common Agricultural Policy Hearing on ”European – Level playing field: state of of implementation of the EU agricultural legislation in different Member States” Monday, April 25 th 2016 Niels Lindberg Madsen, Danish Agriculture & Food Council

Niels Lindberg Madsen - Danish Agriculture & Food Council The main points Level playing field • Single market Transparency • The power of comparison

Niels Lindberg Madsen - Danish Agriculture & Food Council What is a level playing field? Definition of a level playing field • “Economic and legal environment in which all competitors, irrespective of their size or financial strength, follow the same rules and get equal opportunity to compete” And why is it not always there? • • National legislation/regulation Flexibility in the EU-regulations or directives Baseline / frontrunner Imperfect implementation

Niels Lindberg Madsen - Danish Agriculture & Food Council The CAP and the playing field Single market for agricultural products is fundamental Rewarding the frontrunner – the baseline discussion Administrative costs – the need for simplification Flexibility in the regulation • Latest reform gives member states significant flexibility

The CAP The use of direct payments Basic payment / single area payment Redistributive payment Coupled support Young farmers Greening Source: DG Agri

Niels Lindberg Madsen - Danish Agriculture & Food Council The costs of an unlevel playing field Case study: Danish implementation of directives • Nitrate, WFD, EIA, IE, Habitat etc. • Costs for Danish agriculture: € 400 – 600 million — New regulation on use of nitrate will significantly reduce cost Case study: Benchmarking cross compliance in Denmark compared to other Member States • Describe rules, guidelines and practices • Information not available from Member States or Commission • Gives rise to suspicion of foul play …similar examples could be found in other MS!

Niels Lindberg Madsen - Danish Agriculture & Food Council Transparency – a concrete proposal Transparency: Full information on implementation • Transfer of best practice from other member states • Increases credibility of agricultural regulation — Basic payment and greening — Rural development — Cross compliance • Must focus on the concrete practices Introduction of a CAP scoreboard • Easy comparison • Should evaluate if proposals goes against a level playing field

Niels Lindberg Madsen - Danish Agriculture & Food Council To sum up Level playing field • Single market To ensure fairer competition Transparency • Gives farmers more power A lever for better regulation As a “myth buster”