Three steps forward

Reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), freedom of information in the EU, and a better system of issuing visas. The European Commission has been working on many fronts simultaneously in recent times and various initiatives have been published in recent days, aimed at bringing positive effects for the 27 member countries and for their relations with third countries.Agriculture and environment. A new “partnership between Europe and its farmers” in order to “meet the challenges of food security, sustainable use of natural resources and growth”, was announced by Dacian Ciolos, EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, in a press release issued to coincide with the draft reform of the Common Agricultural Policy presented by the Executive on 12 October. “The next decades will be crucial for laying the foundations of a strong agricultural sector that can cope with climate change and international competition while meeting the expectations of the citizen”, said the Commissioner. He further recognizes that “the CAP is what feeds us; it’s the future of more than half of our territory”. According to the Commission, the draft reform aims “to strengthen the competitiveness, sustainability and permanence of agriculture throughout the EU in order to secure for European citizens a healthy and high-quality source of food, preserve the environment and develop rural areas”.A ten-point plan for the CAP. The draft reform of the Commission is based on ten key points, which regard the post-2013 period. The reform now passes to the scrutiny of EU Parliament and Council (these two institutions – from which the first positive comments have emerged – will in turn be asked to express their views according to the procedure of co-decision). The ten points in question include: better targeted income support for farmers in order to stimulate growth and employment; additional investment in research and innovation; a more competitive and balanced food chain; encouraging agri-environmental initiatives; and facilitating the establishment of young farmers. In the presentation of the draft reform there is also emphasis on the need to protect eco-systems: “To strengthen the environmental sustainability of agriculture and enhance the efforts of farmers, the Commission is proposing to spend 30% of direct payments specifically for the improved use of natural resources”. These measures – insists the Commission – “are practical, simple to implement and will have a genuine ecological effect”: they include “crop diversification, maintenance of permanent pasture, and the preservation of environmental reservoirs and landscapes”.Free information. Monitoring the pluralism of the media and freedom of information in the European Union: that’s the task assigned to a high-level group which met in Brussels in recent days on the initiative of the Commission. Pointing out that the problem of pluralism in this sector could involve some EU countries and the EU as a whole, the Vice-President of the Executive, Neelie Kroes, has established a team whose job it will be to make “recommendations in the field of respect for, protection, support and promotion of the freedom and pluralism of the media in Europe”. The group is independent. It is chaired by former Latvian President, Vaira Vike-Freiberga. Its members include: Herta Däubler-Gmelin, former German Minister of Justice, Luís Miguel Poiares Pessoa Maduro, of the European University Institute, and Ben Hammersley, digital expert. The group’s first task will be to analyze the legislation of the 27 EU states and the situation “in the field”; the group’s findings will be published. The Commission invites the high-level group to analyze and make recommendations on the following questions: “limitations to the freedom of the media caused by political interferences (state intervention or national legislation)”; “limitations to the independence of the media caused by private and commercial interferences”; the question of the concentration of ownership of the media and the consequences this has on the freedom and pluralism of the media and on the independence of journalists”.Visas in the Schengen area. The new Visa Information System (VIS) came into operation on 11 October; it involves the 25 member countries of Schengen. According to the Commission, “visa applications will now be processed much faster thanks to the use of biometrics (fingerprints and a digital facial image) which will facilitate the identification of visa holders and help to avoid identity theft”. The VIS should further reinforce the integrity and security of the system, by permitting the rapid exchange of data on short-stay visas in the Schengen area. EU Commissioner for Internal Affairs, Cecilia Malmström, declared: “From now on, foreigners wishing to visit the EU will benefit from clearer, more precise, transparent and fairer visa application rules. The new system will also allow visas to be issued and verified in a more efficient and secure way”.