“Immediate simplification measures” of the administrative thousand sheets, end of the increase in non-road diesel, “very heavy” sanctions against several companies which do not respect the Egalim law: here is what to remember from Gabriel Attal’s announcements for farmers.
Non-road diesel: “we’re going to stop”
This was one of the demands of the angry operators: the Prime Minister announced that the gradual increase until 2030 in taxation on non-road diesel (GNR) was abandoned. “We are going to stop with this upward trajectory,” promised the head of government.
To put an end to a “Kafkaesque system”, he also announced that “by the summer”, the deductions granted to farmers on this fuel would be made at the time of purchase, and no longer after the fact on proof. Today “you pay your GNR, you have to fill out lots of paperwork, and the following year you get help. Objectively, it’s incredibly complex,” he admitted.
Simplifications
The Prime Minister has multiplied promises of administrative “simplification” with “ten immediate measures”. For the cleaning of agricultural watercourses, he promised to reduce the delays “from nine months to two months”. To respond to the “tensions” around the controls of the French Biodiversity Office, he also announced that the institution would henceforth be “under the supervision of the prefect”, and mentioned “common sense measures” to reduce the pressure: “do you really have to come armed when you come to check a hedge? “, he said.
Farmers may only be subject to one administrative inspection visit per year, he also promised. The Prime Minister also committed to putting an end to “14 different regulations” on hedges: “we are moving to one regulation”. He also announced that the time limit for filing an appeal against an agricultural project, “when we want to extend a livestock building, when we want to set up a collinear reservoir”, would go from four months to two months.
“Heavy” sanctions against companies
“I am quite lucid, in commercial negotiations agriculture is not sufficiently protected,” admitted the resident of Matignon. “We are strengthening controls. We will sift through everything in the coming days.” “We are going to impose three very heavy sanctions against companies which do not respect (the) Egalim laws”, which aim to protect the income of farmers. He did not specify which groups were affected, but mentioned “important companies”.
Emergency aid
Gabriel Attal also promised an effort to release emergency aid more quickly, in particular that aimed at farms affected by epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EMD). State reimbursement for veterinary care increases from 80% to 90%. The vast majority of outbreaks of the disease are concentrated in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques and the Hautes-Pyrénées.
To support the organic sector, he also announced that he would inject “50 million euros”, while demands for these products have fallen over the last two years. Hoping to partly reassure farmers worried about the risks of unfair competition, the Prime Minister also insisted on the government’s opposition to the controversial trade agreement between the EU and Latin American countries Mercosur. “We continue and will continue to oppose it,” he insisted.