Westminster should be backing Scottish farmers says Lyons

ONE of Scotland's MEPs yesterday called on the UK government to help create a "level playing field" for farmers in this country by supporting European Commission proposals to average out payments between member states.

George Lyon MEP said that if the European Commission's proposals for a fair distribution of CAP cash were used within the UK it would give Scotland a 40 per cent increase in its direct payments.

This would be worth well over 225 million a year to Scottish farmers, he reckoned.

Lyon's calculations and claims have been based on the European Commission's budget proposals. These call for all member states who currently receive less than 90 per cent of the EU average direct payments, which are approximately €243 per hectare, to have 30 per cent of that difference made up by proportionate contributions from those countries who currently receive above €270 per hectare.

That would bring money into the UK but Lyon also called for the UK government to ensure there was the same fair distribution of CAP cash within member states such as the UK.

He said Scotland currently received one of the lowest shares of CAP cash in Europe at approximately €109 per hectare, while England and Northern Ireland enjoy direct payments that are above the EU average, with English payments at approximately €290 per hectare England and Northern Ireland at €350 per hectare. Lyon said that Scottish farmers had suffered too long from receiving one of the poorest shares of CAP cash in Europe.

"In the Commission's budget plans for 2014-2020 published last month, they set out proposals to ensure a more equal distribution of direct support between countries as part of the move to area based payment systems.

"I believe the UK government should not only back the Commission's plans in the forthcoming negotiations on CAP reform but they should go further and push for the same system to be used to distribute CAP cash within member states such as the UK, as well as between member states."

He claimed the new payment system could be put in place by 2020.

"That would give Scotland a fairer share of the CAP direct payments and the extra cash would help to alleviate some of the financial pain Scottish farmers will suffer in the move to an area payment system," he said.