Five Member States have still not sent the European Commission their draft national strategic plans implementing the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) from 1 January 2023.
The Commission told the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee on Wednesday 2 February that it did not expect to adopt the strategic plans definitively before September, although it had initially expected them to be adopted before the summer recess (see EUROPE 12877/24).
This delay is due to the fact that five countries have still not submitted their draft plans (Germany, Belgium, Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia, which should do so soon) and because of the complexity of the work to be carried out, with plans ranging from 400 pages (for a small country like Malta) to 4,000 pages for Spain.
After a first quick review of the plans it received, the Commission has already identified some shortcomings, especially in the fight against antibiotic resistance.
According to the agreed procedure, the Commission must send a letter of observation to the Member States three months after the date of submission of the draft plans, requesting certain adjustments.
The first letters are therefore expected to be adopted by the European College of Commissioners in early April. By this date, the Commission should be able to present a first comparative table of the measures taken by the Member States. Member States will then have to rework their plans and submit a revised version for the Commission to assess (within three months) before adoption. But no deadline has been set as to how long Member States can take to review their plans.
The whole process, especially for latecomers, could therefore last until the end of the year. This is a concern for MEPs, who fear that the details of these plans, for example on crop rotation flexibilities, will come too late for farmers who need to plan their sowing. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)