Changes to the Common Agricultural Policy may be applicable by farmers as early as 2024

Brussels – From the proposal to the final green light in less than two months: that’s almost a record for the amendment to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which, after approval by the urgent procedure in the plenary session of the EU Parliament, received the final green light this morning (May 13) from the EU Council by written procedure. Unlike in late March after the first approval from the 27 Agricultural Ministers, this time there were no protests from farmers outside the EU institution, – but the seal came smoothly on the proposals made by the EU Commission on March 15 to address problems encountered in the implementation of the strategic plans of the CAP.

After months of harsh protests in member states and Brussels -particularly earlier this year – the amendment to the CAP followed an accelerated process in Brussels, and now only co-legislators of the Parliament and the Council have to sign the law. The entry into force will come the day after publication in the EU Official Journal, “by the end of May,” the Council said. European farmers will be able to apply some of the new environmental cross-compliance rules retroactively to 2024, as already urgently requested by the head of Agriculture in the von der Leyen cabinet, Janusz Wojciechowski.

After the temporary waiver through 2024 to uncultivated land, the revised CAP plans to completely eliminate  the allocation of “a minimum proportion of arable land to non-productive areas” from standard 8 of ‘Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions’ (GAEC) – that is, fallow land – “while maintaining the protection of existing landscape elements.” Member states will instead be required to establish an eco-scheme to support farmers in maintaining a portion of arable land in a non-productive state or to create new landscape elements (such as hedges or trees). Farmers will be rewarded for these non-productive areas beneficial to biodiversity on farmland and, more generally, rural areas.

The 27 Member States will also be able to provide specific exemptions from rules on GAEC standards 5, 6, and 7 (tillage management, ground cover, and fallow land) for situations that are likely to be contrary to their objectives, such as in the case of specific soil and subsoil conditions. More specifically, crop rotation (standard 7) will be retained but with the option of meeting this requirement with crop diversification. This should give farmers affected by regular drought or excessive rainfall the flexibility to meet the condition in a more compatible way with agricultural realities.

Among the most significant changes is the exemption for farms under 10 hectares from cross-compliance checks and penalties, affecting 65 percent of CAP beneficiaries but only 10 percent of the total agricultural area. The aim is to alleviate the administrative burden associated with controls, which is higher for small farms than larger ones. In other words — in addition to the general flexibilities of the GAEC —  the relief in the burden for small farmers with a maximum farm size of no more than 10 hectares of agricultural area will ensure that they do not have to be audited for compliance with statutory management requirements, since the exemption would not significantly hinder the role of cross-compliance requirements in contributing to climate and environmental objectives. In addition, there is also the proposal to increase the number of requests to amend the CAP’s Strategic Plan from one to two per year.

Regarding farmers’ remuneration and their position in the food supply chain, three paths will be followed: first, the Commission will launch an observatory of production costs, margins, and business practices in the agrifood supply chain – with representatives of all sectors of the food supply chain and representatives of the member states and the Commission. Secondly, there will be a strengthening of the rules applicable to contracts that farmers enter into with the food industry or retail buyers through new options to the Regulation establishing a Common Market Organization for Agricultural Products (CMO) and cross-border enforcement of rules against unfair trade practices. Finally, the Commission will conduct a thorough evaluation of the Directive on Unfair Trade Practices in the Food Supply Chain in force since 2021, with the first report due in the spring of 2024 and a more detailed evaluation to be presented in 2025 along with legislative proposals “if appropriate.”