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22 Jun 2011, 5:17 PM farm-advice Joined on 09 Nov 2005 Posts 473 Urgent request to support funding for agri-environment schemes Agri-environment funding is under threat. In the last 72 hours, we have learnt that agri-environment funding could be scrapped as part of the upcoming European Budget. This decision threatens to undermine the good work that many farmers have already done to support farmland bird populations, and restrict the opportunity to do more in the future. This proposal is being considered by the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, as he finalises his plans for the EU Budget - expected to be announced on 29 June. If the EU continues with this plan, there is no doubt that wildlife will suffer. We have asked our supporters to demand that the EU continue the vital support for wildlife-friendly farming from Pillar 2. We thought you would want to have an opportunity to do the same, so please tell President Barroso how you feel about this proposal. Take part in our quick and easy online action to send President Barroso an email at http://www.rspb.org.uk/. Please pass this message on to as many people as you can as we only have until 29 June to make our voices heard. Our campaign will not stop on 29 June, but this is crucial moment in agreeing the EU Budget and your help is much appreciated.    Report

30 Jun 2011, 7:23 AM Richard Barnes Joined on 03 Jan 2006 Holbeach, Lincs Posts 34 Re: Urgent request to support funding for agri-environment schemes Is there any news from the EU budget meeting please? Richard Barnes, Kings Game Cover and Conservation Crops www.kingscrops.co.uk    Report

30 Jun 2011, 5:31 PM farm-advice Joined on 09 Nov 2005 Posts 473 Re: Urgent request to support funding for agri-environment schemes The RSPB has just issued the letter below to supporters who lobbied for protection of AES funding: Dear supporter Congratulations! You have made a real difference: a major threat to the future of wildlife friendly farming has been averted and it is thanks to you and your actions. Following a lot of delay and debate, the draft EU budget for 2014 – 2002 has finally been announced. This financial framework will dictate how much money is available through the Common Agricultural Policy to support wildlife-friendly farming in the years to come. Thanks to a concerted effort from RSPB supporters and other campaigners across the EU, the budget for agri-environment schemes has survived largely intact. Things very nearly didn’t turn out this way. The RSPB has heard from reliable sources that major cuts to agri-environment funding were on the negotiating table right up to the last minute. However, the messages you sent to the Commission, alongside many more from Birdlife supporters across Europe plus strenuous campaigning from our colleagues in Brussels, sent a signal to the Commissioner he could not ignore. In the event, the Pillar 2 budget (which funds agri-environment) has been cut by approximately 7% in real terms. Although this is obviously a far cry from the increased agri-environment budget we all want to see, things could have been so much worse – so thank you once again for your invaluable support at this critical juncture. The budget proposals still have to be debated by European leaders, and we do not yet know how the money will be divided up between the Member States. It is therefore too early to draw conclusions on what exactly the proposals will mean for our farmers and our environment. However, one thing is sure: with your help we have averted a major disaster for Europe’s environment. We would like to send our heartfelt thanks to all of you who have stepped up for nature and made your voice heard. We have won this fight but there will be many more to come and we are counting on your support! You can read more in the RSPB’s press release. And if you want to read the details yourself you can find it all on the European Commission’s website. We will provide more details on all of this as things become clearer. RSPB press release: http://www.rspb.org.uk/news/283269-wildlife-forgotten-in-the-next-eu-budget Commission: http://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010-2014/president/news/speeches-statements/2011/06/20110628_speeches_2_en.htm    Report

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