Awaiting votes on coupled subsidies

The European Public Health Alliance (EPHA) has called for the rejection of a proposal that would reintroduce subsidies coupled to tobacco production, according to a story in Europolitics.

The EU Parliament is due to vote on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform package this week.

“Pumping taxpayers’ money into a harmful industry once more is a step backwards for Europe and does nothing to support efforts to move farmers from producing one of Europe’s greatest killers to a more sustainable crop,” said Monika Kosinska, secretary-general of the EPHA.

At the end of January, the parliament’s Committee on Agriculture (AGRI) backed a proposal to remove any restrictions on products that could be supported by coupled subsidies when voting on their amendments to the Commission’s proposed direct payments regulation.

Coupled tobacco subsidies were scrapped in 2010.

Producers will now be hoping that the AGRI’s decision will be confirmed both by parliament and the Council of Ministers.