CAP reform package delayed until 2015
CAP reform will not come into effect until 2015, the European Commission has confirmed.
Gwilym Jones, cabinet member for agriculture and rural affairs at the commission, finally admitted at a Westminster Food and Nutrition Forum the date had been pushed back a year to 1 January 2015.
However, if political agreement is reached sooner, the rural development plan could still go ahead during 2014, he added.
The news comes as no surprise to many in the UK agriculture industry, as it was widely accepted that the new policy would not be ready for implementation in 2014.
NFU president Peter Kendall welcomed the confirmation, but said the 2015 date is of concern among farmers, as putting implementation back a year adds “a massive area of uncertainty that needs to be addressed going forward”.
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