Lyon hits out at lack of EU information

Much to the annoyance of MEP George Lyon, European Commission officials have refused to detail just what type of land will be acceptable to them for taking out of future production.

In the proposed reforms of the Common Agricultural Policy, Agricultural Commissioner Dacian Ciolos put forward an idea that 7 per cent of the acreage of every farm be considered a non-productive environmental focus area.

The commissioner suggested this would help meet the expectations from the taxpayers supporting the CAP that there were environmental benefits from the policy as well as food production.

At various times since the proposals first came forward last year, commission officials and the commissioner himself have been questioned as to what type of land might be eligible for an EFA.

The various responses have been non-specific other than saying that the areas might not currently be in food production. The commissioner’s spokesman said last month that the 7 per cent could include features such as hedgerows, streams, coppices and ponds.

However, Lyon, one of the Scottish MEPs who sits on the EU parliamentary agricultural committee, submitted written questions asking the commission to clarify whether the definition of ecological focus areas would include currently ineligible organic features such as wide hedges, ditches, ponds and areas of farm woodland not supported through rural development programmes.

He also wanted to know whether hedges surrounding areas of permanent grassland would count towards meeting the 7 per cent targets?

Lyon has been told the more detailed definitions of the types of areas which would count for EFA as well as the definition of further types are to be set in the delegated acts and hence were not included in the basic act.

The official added that no decision has been made on which landscape features can be counted as EFA. A similar non-position exists with those features surrounding areas of permanent grassland.

Lyon responded yesterday: “How can farm organisations, governments and MEPs decide whether this is a sensible proposal when we have no idea whether headlands, ditches and other landscape features are in or out?”