The European Commission has published an additional information notice concerning Lot nº 5 of the tender procedure of a framework contract for the evaluation of CAP measures concerning sectors subject to past or present direct support, dedicated to beef and veal, and dairy products.

After reconsidering the issue, AGRI DG has decided not to pursue the approach of a framework contract for the two sectors included in lot nº 5 of the Framework contract for the evaluation of CAP measures concerning sectors subject to past or present direct support.

The evaluation project under lot nº5 would examine the effectiveness, efficiency, coherence, relevance and possible unintended side-effects of the measures concerning beef and veal and dairy products. The lot had an indicative maximum amount of 1,6 M€.

Main reasons for suspension

Both sectors are very complex and each imposes specific requirements for the evaluations to be undertaken:

• In the milk sector the aspect of market analysis is of crucial importance, in particular in a situation where the phasing out of the milk quota system is decided. Furthermore, the diversity of dairy products with diverging demand characteristics and trends needs to be taken duly into account.
• In the beef sector, it is notably the complexity and diversity of the direct payment system which has been in place since the 2003 CAP reform and which requires a focused and detailed farm-income analysis. This applies even more so for the present situation, for which the different options for partial coupling of beef direct payments taken by the Member States need to be analysed. Moreover, under certain conditions, beef and veal payments can still remain coupled after the health check.

AGRI DG has concluded that the items to be addressed are not fully covered by the framework contract. It has decided to launch separate specific, well focused calls for tenders for these 2 sectors in the years to come.

The reporting obligations decided by the Council in the context of the health check reinforce the specific evaluation requirements for these sectors.