The “variable geometry” implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)’s set of obligations relating to good agricultural and environmental conditions (GAEC) in the Member States is already causing problems of distortion of competition, says Farm Europe in an analysis published on Wednesday 10 May.
The think tank examines the case of GAEC 5, which is intended to address the challenge of soil erosion by managing tillage on slopes.
However, not all Member States use the same criteria to define the areas where GAEC is to be applied. The vast majority only indicate the “slope” of the ground as a criterion for defining intervention areas and refer to areas with a slope greater than 10%.
In contrast, the CAP plan of the Walloon Region (Belgium) uses multiple criteria, classifying areas according to their level of sensitivity to erosion, each with its own obligations. For Farm Europe, the choice to implement GAEC 5 in Wallonia “places farmers in a unique position in Europe, with the result that competition is distorted”. However, this is a cross-compliance measure which has an impact on all CAP support, and not a specific measure which is subject to ad hoc compensation, such as agri-environmental measures or eco-regimes. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)