In paragraph 4 of the explanatory memorandum to the proposal for a regulation on the CAP transition period (2019/0254 (COD)), the Commission states: ‘Therefore, the initiative has a budgetary impact in the sense that it adds the allocations for direct payments and rural development for the relevant transitional period to ensure smooth continuity.’

The Commission used the area declared in 2009 to calculate the size of its national envelope for Lithuania for the 2014-2020 period, which was 2.64 million hectares.

For the 2021-2027 period, the 2016 reference area, which in Lithuania was 2,9 million hectares, was used for the calculation of direct payment amounts.

Would the Commission answer the following questions:

1  What area did the Commission use to calculate the amount of the national envelope allocated to Lithuania for direct payments in 2021 in order to ensure the ‘smooth continuity’ referred to in the above quote?

2  One of the central themes of the CAP in the 2014-2020 and 2021-2027 periods is external convergence. Why does the proposal for a regulation on the CAP transition period fail completely to pursue the process of external convergence, even though the Commission advocates the ‘smooth continuity’ of the CAP (see quote above)?