Parliamentary Group

Assembly of the Republic-Palace of S. Bento-1249-068 Lisbon-Phone: 21391 9233-Fax: 21391 7456 Email: gpcds@pp. parlamento.pt-http://cdsnoparlamento.pp. parliamento.pt

Draft Resolution n. 31 /XI/1.

RECOMMENDS THE GOVERNMENT 7 ANTI-CRISIS MEASURES WITH RAPID EFFECT

IN AGRICULTURE, 5 MEASURES FOR THE RPU TO BE PAID ON TIME AND HOURS,

9 MEASURES TO SAVE THE PRODER AND DEFEND THE NATIONAL INTEREST

AND PORTUGUESE AGRICULTURE TO THE EUROPEAN UNION

1. In the understanding of the CDS, there are 4 absolute priorities for the Ministry of Agriculture, if

what is intended is to modify the state of disinvestment and dismotivation seriously

of the sector.

a) Specific anti-crisis measures for agricultural sector that compensate for the fall of the

income of the farmer and his growing difficulty in selling, with factors of

production so high and producer prices so low;

b) Putting the Single Payment Regime (RPU) to work. Of it depend more on

200,000 farmers. They are funds paid at 100% by the European Union. What

has happened in recent years was an inconceivable delay in the controls and,

consequently, an unacceptable delay in payments. Only in the last campaign,

Portugal will have lost more than 80ME. The situation is unrepeatable and our ambition alone

can be one: depleting the available funds, as the other countries have done;

c) Save the PRODER, which was until now a failure. Make it simple, fast, productive and

friend of the farmer what, at present, is a bureaucratic nightmare, a delay of

life, a waste of funds and a missed opportunity for the rural world;

d) Contributing to avoid, on the European plan, that the reform of financial perspective

of the EU from 2013, be made with sacrifice of the CAP, notably through the

threat of reduction or even elimination of the 1º pillar, which would cause effects much

negatives in the income of countless farmers and the contribution of the rural world

for the national economy.

2. The CDS considers that it is a priority to design and bring to the practice a Defence Plan of the

Agricultural and Forestry Sector. The sector has been until today excluded, from the global point of view,

of the cast of anti-crisis measures.

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As we ask for this Plan, we take into consideration that the rural world suffers, at the same

time, the effects of the international economic crisis, for we live in economics

open, from the vertiginous fall in producer prices and national disinvestment

in the sector for the last 4 and a half years.

By requiring the Government to be courageous to take action, and when we present the

our proposals, we take into consideration that:

a) The French government, announced an exceptional plan for agriculture, in the value of

1000ME in bank loans and 650 ME in tax aids and other to

producers:

b) The German government, has launched an exceptional plan for agriculture contains a

financial envelope for the rural world in the value of 750 ME and includes supporting measures

to the producer, on credit and insurance;

c) The government of Spain prepares to do the same, under great pressure from the

agricultural organizations.

This means that our main competitors have been interested in catching up

conditions of competitiveness, at a juncture of crisis. If Portugal does not,

aggravate their difficulties.

On the other hand, we have present that investing in agriculture is not just-and would already be

very much-protect the rural world, fight desertification and promote the

planning. It is not just-and it would already be immense-to generate wealth and defend employment.

It is also to contribute to overcome one of our main problems

economic: the external deficit. In fact, every euro invested in agriculture is a

euro that exports or replaces imports. That is, the investment in the

agriculture contributes-as few-to decrease structural imbalances of the

national economy. Such investment must therefore be durable and stable.

Add to that, to change the agricultural policy seriously, the Government must take into account

that 43.5% of the Gross Value Added Value generated in agriculture is tributary of the supports

European and national. So the say the national agricultural accounts. Donde, none

plan may waive the correct application and payment of community funds,

either at 1º. Pilar, or in the 2º Pilar of the CAP.

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3. The second biggest concern of the CDS has to do with the repeated loss of the

efficiency, by sole national responsibility, of the so-called Payments

Single (RPU). Of the readiness in the payment of these aids depend more than 200 thousand

farmers. The monies are 100% community. The responsibility of the State is

make the checks and have the machine ready to proceed to the payments. In this

accountability, the state is failing. It is estimated that, in the last campaign alone,

Portugal will have wasted about 80 ME.

More: Portuguese farmers did not benefit from the anticipation of payments,

authorized by the European Commission, meeting the situation of economic crisis.

Portugal should commit to fully comply with the plafonds Europeans, such as

our main competitors do. It is highly likely that, in the assessment

which we propose, the Government comes to the conclusion that "decapitation" of the MADRP, in

terms of tables and employees, had consequences, from the point of view of

installed capacity to make the controls. In that sense, the Government has to

present, very quickly, a framework of needs, looking for solutions,

if necessary in articulation with the availabilities of the social mobility scheme

and of the Employment Centres.

4. Portugal has 634 ME, per year, to invest in Agriculture. Thousands of

applications have emerged, within the framework of the dozens of measures entered in PRODER.

As is well known, the response of the Ministry of Agriculture was a collapse. Of agreement

with the last known execution, only 10% of payments had reached the

farmer. The new Minister admits that, in fact, three years on, they are only

made 13% of the payments. It is frustrating the waiting time in the evaluations of the

applications.

The purpose of the CDS is to contribute, with quick measures, that help to put the

function, at the beginning of the year, the management system of PRODER. Turn it, therefore, the

favour of the farmer.

The national leeway to implement PRODER is wide. We must

focus on changing what can be changed, already. And properly prepare the

"half-time review" of PRODER, to be defended in Brussels in 2010.

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It is one thing for the state to decide the applications. That's your prerogative, even because

there are public funds involved, alongside private funds and community funds.

It is another thing for the state to decide the applications depending on criteria that mean

an obvious and inefficient state dirigisme.

The weight that the definition of the "strategic sectors" has in PRODER is exorbitant.

With such dirigisme, it has come to the absurdity of considering that cereals, meat or

the milk, are not strategic. The practical consequence is that, in the decision process,

the value that the decision makers of the Ministry ascribe to the applications is an appropriation

undue, by the State, the risk, the interest and the availability of investment of the

farmer.

5. It is still urgent that the voice of Portugal,-namely of the Government and the

National Parliament-make yourself heard, in the face of the discussions that are already under way,

on the new financial proposals of the EU and its consequences on Politics

Common agricultural.

States such as France and Spain have already taken the lead in the contestation of the

documents and opinions that, official and officiously, aim to sacrifice the CAP, and, in this,

above the 1º Pilar monies, in a logic of apparent renationalisation of

policies. Ora, just have to present the specifically Portuguese circumstance in the

apportionment of monies between 1º and 2º Pilar, to realize the effects that such a reform

would have in the national agricultural structure and in aid to farmers ' income. Is

incomprehensible the silence of Portugal in this matter.

6-We are a faithful Party to the principle of knowing to critiquise but know also to prolong

alternatives. It is manifest that the denunciation of the agricultural policy errors made by the CDS

has been confirmed by the facts. So we concretize the concrete measures and opinions

which we propose in defence of the rural world, at this economic juncture.

Thus, the CDS-PP Parliamentary Group presents the following Project of

Resolution:

In accordance with Article 156º (b) of the Constitution and paragraph 1 (b) of the

Article 4º of the Rules, the Assembly of the Republic recommends to the Government

that:

a) Take 6 Anti-crisis measures with rapid effect

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 Negotiate a true and broad line of credit specific to the

agriculture, which meets the needs of debt restructuring and

to the treasury situations of the farmers;

 Reflect on what you can do as well as agricultural diesel,

particularly reducing the rate;

 Re-put green electricity, as suggested in the programme itself

election of the Socialist Party;

 Ensure, in the next State Budget, national appropriations for

a competitive and decided execution of PRODER;

 Engage in the political will of the Government in an agreement between producers,

cooperatives and distributors in the milk sector;

 Put before the Competition Authority all the data that

indict the de facto monopoly that governs the sector;

 Search, since already, in the European framework, a more effective response to the level

of risk insurance.

b) Implement 5 measures for the RPU to be paid on time and hours

 Clarify the chain of command that manages controls and payments in

Single Payment Regime (RPU);

 Prepare the next campaign so that, if it ends in May, the

controls begin immediately below;

 Recourse to existing availabilities in the mobility scheme

special, or the specific recruitment at the Employment Centres,

particularly of young graduates with a vocation for the sector, from

mode to have the necessary staff to have the controls and the

payments are made timely;

 Check quickly where the system of controls failed, why

and apure responsibilities;

 Set successive and imperative regional targets for controls

committing to their fulfillment.

c) Put in place 9 measures to save PRODER for the sake of the economy

 Simplify the application processes of the farmers to PRODER,

ending the obligation of small farmers or companies

have recourse to consultants to manage to complete forms and

carry out applications;

 Counteract immediately with the Farmers ' Associations o

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support for the farmer in the submission of his applications;

 Opte, as much as desirable, by a system of applications

permanent, the so-called "open guichet system";

 Give instructions to the services to engage in dialogue directly with the

farmers, avoiding, in that way, namely, the deprecation of

applications for mere formal issues;

 It undertakes to decide the applications on time, fixing

peremptorily the term of evaluation of applications, admitting the

tacit deferris of that time limit;

 Consistency dowry, at the level of the Regional Directions, the criteria of

decision on the applications;

 Simplify the criteria for approval of the applications by modifying the

rules, so as to be exempt and respectful from the perspective of the

farmer in his relationship with the markets;

 Approach the PRODER of the farmer, which implies not to assign the State

the greater weight in the decision criteria;

 Resolve the IFAP certification question, avoiding serious issues

that will be able to arise from the community point of view.

d) Finally, the Government must

 Actively engage in the defence of national interest and the

income of Portuguese farmers, in the face of the debate on the

new financial perspectives and the reform of the CAP;

 Search for the necessary alliances, with other states, to avoid the

reduction of income supports, particularly those that are

ensured by the 1º Pilar

Palace of Saint Benedict, December 11, 2009

The Deputies