The Council of the EU approved the proposal for the revision of the common agricultural policy

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According to the Agriculture and Fisheries Council, the purpose of the revision is to create a balance between the environmental protection and climate policy aspirations of the current EU agricultural policy and the management of the concerns of agricultural producers. In the case of good agricultural and environmental conditions, it allows Member States to grant temporary and targeted derogations from certain cross-compliance requirements in the event of unforeseen climatic conditions that prevent farmers from meeting the requirements.

According to the proposal, EU farmers will not be obliged to leave a certain part of their arable land fallow

On a voluntary basis, they can decide to leave part of their arable land fallow or to plant new crops on it. At the same time, it encourages farmers to maintain non-productive areas that are beneficial for biodiversity. In addition to crop rotation, it also enables the diversification of crop production for farmers who own areas affected by regular drought or excessive rainfall, so that they can more easily meet the relevant requirement, they wrote.

Member States may exempt certain crops, soil types or farming systems from compliance with tillage requirements

Their scope must be limited and they can only be created if they are necessary to solve specific problems. The revision exempts agricultural farms operating on an area of less than 10 hectares from inspections and sanctions related to compliance with conditionality requirements, which reduces the administrative burden related to inspections for small producers, who make up 65 percent of the CAP beneficiaries, they said. The review ensures that the EU countries can now amend their CAP strategic plans on a permanent basis, twice a year, as opposed to the current possibility of a single amendment. This – they wrote – gives member states more flexibility to deal with changing conditions. The revision must also be accepted by the European Parliament, it is expected to take place at the plenary session in Strasbourg between April 22 and 25. After that, the decree must be officially adopted by the EU Council and then announced. If finally adopted, the decree may enter into force in the spring.

MTI