The European Commission sent a paper to the Belgian Presidency outlining first possible actions to help reduce the administrative burden weighing on farmers' shoulders.
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The document, which will be discussed with Member States in the agricultural Council of 26 February, lists a range of short- and mid-term actions that can be taken to achieve simplification. This will serve as the basis for discussions and joint action with EU countries.
The delivery model of the current Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), based on CAP Strategic Plans decided and implemented at national level, already represents a step forward in terms of simplification and subsidiarity compared with the previous period.
Member States play a key role in keeping the administrative burden for farmers limited and proportionate to achieve the objectives of EU legislation.
This is why any successful simplification exercise must be carried out in close cooperation with the national administrations and farmers themselves.
In light of this, the Commission will launch in March an online survey directly addressed to farmers.
This targeted consultation will help to identify their main sources of concern, and understand the sources of administrative burden and complexity stemming from CAP rules as well as other EU rules for food and agriculture in the EU, and their application at national level.
This survey will provide already by the summer a clearer picture of the main administrative obstacles perceived and faced by farmers.
Its results will be included in a more detailed analysis to be published in Autumn 2024.
Beyond this necessary gathering of evidence, the Commission proposes short and mid-term measures that could bring some relief to both farmers but also to national administrations, which represent the first point of contact for farmers and are responsible for managing and paying EU funds.
First, the Commission proposes to simplify some of the conditionality requirements with which EU farmers need to comply.
The set of basic standards- referred to as GAECs (good agricultural and environmental conditions)- that all farmers must comply with to receive their CAP support has proven challenging to implement in certain circumstances.
One proposal put forward may be to exempt small farms of under 10 hectares from controls related to compliance with conditionality requirements (GAECs).
This exemption would significantly simplify the daily work of small farmers who represent 65% of CAP beneficiaries, while maintaining the CAP's environmental ambitions since small farms cover only 9,6% of the areas receiving CAP support.
Additionally, should the basic Regulations be changed in the mid-term, GAEC 8 on land lying fallow, GAEC 7 on crop rotation and GAEC 6 on soil cover could be reviewed to further reduce burden for farmers. ■
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