The revision of key acts of the CAP was approved today (26.3.2024) by the representatives of the member states in the special committee on agriculture.
Through the review, problems arising, for example, with the implementation of its strategic plans are addressed CAP achieving simplification, reducing the administrative burden for farmers and providing more flexibility to comply with certain environmental conditions.
Ensuring a targeted response
The revision addresses certain elements of the CAP Strategic Plans Regulation and the Regulation on the financing, management and monitoring of the Common Agricultural Policy (the so-called ‘horizontal regulation’).
The text strikes a careful balance between the need to maintain the high level of environmental and climate ambition in the current CAP and ensuring that farmers’ concerns are addressed.
Adjustment of conditions
The Select Committee on Agriculture today approved changes to the Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions (GAEC) standards proposed by European Commission.
The GAECs are a set of nine environmentally and climate beneficial standards that apply to farmers receiving support under the CAP. These standards are also referred to as conditions, given the relationship between meeting these requirements and the support provided to farmers.
One of the main changes is that a general provision is introduced that allows Member States to grant temporary and targeted derogations from certain condition requirements in case of unforeseen climatic conditions that prevent farmers from complying with them. Once a year, Member States should inform the Commission of such derogations.
In addition, specific exceptions to certain GAEC standards are introduced, such as:
- for GAEC 6 on land cover in sensitive periods: Member States will have more flexibility to decide which lands to protect and in what season, based on national and regional specificities
- for GAEC 7 on crop rotation: crop rotation will remain the main practice, but Member States will be able to use crop diversification as an alternative. This is less demanding for farmers, especially in areas subject to drought or high rainfall
- for GAEC 8: farmers will only be required to maintain existing field features and will henceforth be encouraged, on a voluntary basis, to maintain fallow land or create new field features through ecological systems.
The approved revision also exempts small holdings of less than 10 hectares from controls and penalties related to compliance with the condition requirements under the CAP.
As this concerns 65% of CAP beneficiaries but represents only around 10% of agricultural land, it will significantly reduce the administrative burden associated with controls for both farmers and national administrations, while maintaining environmental objectives .
More flexibility for Member States and farmers
In line with previous requests from member states, the revision will ensure that EU countries can now amend their CAP strategic plans twice a year on a permanent basis, as opposed to once at present.
This will give Member States more flexibility to deal with changing circumstances. In addition, it will still be possible to submit three additional change requests throughout the program period.
Next steps
The chairman of the special committee on agriculture will now send the letter to the European Parliament.
The European Parliament’s agriculture committee decided to use the urgent procedure for this proposal. Parliament’s first reading position is expected to be adopted in its plenary session on 22-25 April 2024.
Then, according to newsit, the regulation will be formally adopted by the Council, signed by representatives of the Council and the European Parliament and published in the Official Journal. If all goes as planned, the regulation will take effect by the end of this spring.
Given the extremely short time between the approval of the proposal by the Commission (15 March 2024) and its intended entry into force, this shows the commitment of the three institutions to quickly address the current situation of European farmers.
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