Spelman calms some Scottish fears over CAP reform Last week, NFU Scotland had harsh words of criticism for the UK negotiators on their stance in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform talks, with the union saying it wanted support to continue to be funnelled into directly supporting farmers and not through environmental schemes and rural development. That stance might have ensured a testy meeting yesterday in Edinburgh when Secretary of State Caroline Spelman came to speak at a union-organised conference on proposed environmental policies in the next CAP. But Spelman swiftly defused the issue by stating that, as chief UK negotiator, she wanted maximum flexibility and as much elbow room as possible before sitting down in the face to face talks which will help determine the final shape of the CAP. NFUS president Nigel Miller said afterwards that union policy was still based on environmental - or as it is now called "greening" - support being linked to the direct payments farmers received. Apart from that split in policy, there was a great deal of agreement between the Scottish union and the UK government position, helped as it was by a common view that the current greening proposals put forward by the Commission were not suitable. The "one size fits all" Commission approach to CAP reform was ridiculed, Spelman pointing out that when she attended council meetings in Europe, she sat between the Maltese and Estonian ministers, politicians with entirely differing views on farm support and environmental priorities. While accepting that greening would be a central component of the next CAP, Miller's view was the present proposals would adversely affect food production, either through designating land as environmental focus areas or by placing restrictions on specialist arable growers. Spelman's priority was to build on existing environmental schemes, not to cast them aside. S he said: "The UK is leading in the links we have between farming and looking after the countryside, why should we throw that away?" She listed another four greening principles she wanted to see incorporated in the CAP: the environmental benefits delivered should be greater than those already achieved by cross compliance; there had to be flexibility between member states to reflect their own circumstances but there also had to be a degree of equivalence; and the administrative costs had to be proportionate to the benefits. Throughout her speech, she repeatedly emphasised her role as providing the best package for the whole of the UK. As part of that approach she showed an appreciation of the diverse nature and needs of Scotland by saying she would fight for heather to be considered as permanent grassland, an issue that has become gummed up in the Commission's plans to reduce carbon emissions She also stated she would fight against any inclusion of land in Scotland which does not currently attract subsidy payments, another area of concern for the union