After Brexit until a new national system is put in place, the British government will be held responsible over a number of years for paying the farmers’ subsidies that have been paid up to now by the EU, confirmed the Minister of Agriculture on Thursday. Each year, the British farmers receive almost 3 billion pounds (3.34 billion euros) under the common agricultural policy (CAP), according to the figures provided by the NFU (National Farmers Union). This amount is basically paid according to the number of hectares farmed. The Minister, Michael Gove, during a speech delivered in Oxford, criticised the CAP, considering the way it operates to be “unjust, inefficient and drives perverse outcomes”. He, nevertheless, promised that the Government will continue to pay the subsidies “for a number of years” in order “to give the farmers time to adapt to the new economic model, thus helping them to make the necessary investments and prepare for the future”. The United Kingdom will no longer receive CAP aid after it leaves the European Union, planned for March 2019. London wants to establish a transition period, the terms of which will have to be negotiated with Brussels.
