Regulation (EU) 2024/1468

What it is

to re-examine certain provisions of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), with the aim of simplifying matters while maintaining a strong, sustainable and competitive policy for agriculture and food in the EU. PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council. ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council. BACKGROUND: the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plans contribute to the Commission’s ambitious Green Deal agenda, in combination with regulatory initiatives, research investments and other actions to meet the Union’s environmental and 2050 climate objectives. Overall, the new approach works well. However, the first year of implementation of the CAP Strategic Plan has made clear that adjustments are necessary to ensure effective implementation of the plans and cut red-tape. The European Parliament legislative adopted by 425 votes to 130, to 33 abstentions, a resolution on the proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulations (EU) 2021/2115 and (EU) 2021/2116 as regards good agricultural and environmental condition standards, schemes for climate, environment and animal welfare, amendments to CAP Strategic Plans, review of CAP Strategic Plans and exemptions from controls and penalties. The European Parliament adopted its position at first reading in the framework of the ordinary legislative procedure taking over the Commission proposal. In line with its commitment to reduce the administrative burden on EU farmers, the European Commission is proposing to make targeted adjustments to the regulations on the CAP's strategic plans in order to remedy certain difficulties in their implementation. The review of the CAP changes the rules relating to certain environmental conditions with which farmers must comply in order to receive funding. The review covers the following points: - allowing Member States to grant temporary and targeted derogations from certain cross-compliance requirements in the light of increasingly unpredictable weather conditions which may prevent farmers from complying with requirements, such as deadlines in a given year; - authorising Member States to grant specific derogations from standards 5, 6, 7 and 9 on Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition (GAEC) covering situations where there is a risk that the requirements run counter to their objectives, for example because of particular agronomic situations for certain crops on specific soil types and soil and climatic conditions or because of damage to permanent grassland due to wild animals or invasive species, - removing from GAEC standard 8 the obligation to devote a share of arable land to non-productive areas and features, while maintaining the protection of existing landscape features. Farmers will no longer be obliged to devote a minimum proportion of their arable land to non-productive areas such as set-aside. Instead, they should choose, on a voluntary basis, to retain a proportion of their non-productive arable land - or to establish new landscape features (such as hedges…

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