At the EU ‘Agriculture’ Council on Tuesday 25 July, the European Commission was unable to respond favourably, at this stage, to Romania’s request, supported by a number of other countries, to extend certain derogations under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) until 2024.
In view of the poor weather conditions and the effects of the war in Ukraine, Romania has requested that the exemptions granted in 2023 for compliance with the rules on ‘good agricultural and environmental conditions’ (GAEC) 7 (crop rotation) and 8 (minimum proportion of arable land devoted to non-productive areas and features) be continued in 2024. Romania considered that these derogations would have a limited impact on the climate.
The Romanian minister was supported by his counterparts from a number of countries (Slovakia, Bulgaria, Hungary, France, Italy, Poland, the Baltic states, Cyprus, Croatia and Greece). Sweden has asked for the effects of the 2023 derogations to be measured, while Germany has deemed it “unacceptable” to extend the derogations for GAEC 7.
Janusz Wojciechowski, the European Commissioner for Agriculture, said in particular that, in order to renew the derogations in 2024, the two co-legislators would have to amend the legal acts. He also stressed the need to guarantee the credibility of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the transition of agriculture towards “greater sustainability”. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)