The States of the European Union (EU) definitively ratified, Monday May 13, during a ministerial meeting in Brussels, a revision of the common agricultural policy (CAP), relieving it of certain environmental rules in order to appease anger of the sector. These measures, already voted on at the end of April as part of an emergency procedure by the European Parliament, will be published in Official newspaper of the EU and will enter into force by the end of May, with retroactive application covering the first months of 2024.
To the great dismay of environmental NGOs, the European Commission proposed in mid-March to relax, or even eliminate, part of the “green” criteria that the CAP has imposed since 2023 on farms to receive European payments, and that agricultural organizations consider impractical.
These legislative revisions, demanded by the Twenty-Seven after demonstrations by the agricultural world to alleviate the “administrative burdens”were ratified without substantial change by MEPs and by the States.
An open “strategic dialogue”
The text authorizes Member States to completely remove the obligation to leave at least 4% of arable land fallow or non-productive areas (hedges, groves, ponds, etc.), after a temporary suspension granted for 2023 then 2024. The obligation to crop rotation could be replaced by a simple “diversification”and the ban on bare floors during periods “sensitive”, like the supervision of plowing, is considerably relaxed.
Above all, farms of less than ten hectares (i.e. 65% of CAP beneficiaries, for 9.6% of the surface area) will be exempt from controls and penalties linked to environmental rules. In the event of extreme weather episodes, exemptions will be possible to avoid penalties. Finally, a separate administrative act adjusts the obligations to maintain permanent meadows to their 2018 level, allowing States to modify the reference year, in particular for breeders converting to cereals.
Regarding the price claim “fair” to farmers in the face of pressure from processors and distributors, the Commission has also unveiled a ” roadmap “ offering a “observatory” on production prices and an assessment of the rules on unfair commercial practices, but without a legislative proposal at the moment.
At the end of January, Brussels opened a “strategic dialogue” with agricultural organizations, representatives of the agri-food industry, experts and NGOs, whose conclusions expected in the fall must be used to develop a new CAP.