The European Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture has generally welcomed the European Commission’s proposals to simplify the cross-compliance rules applied to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
In particular, for GAEC 8 (fallow land), the Commission proposed extending the derogation granted for 2024. From now on, the minimum proportion of arable land dedicated to non-productive features and areas will no longer be required under cross-compliance. In return, Member States will be obliged to offer farmers in their country eco-regime options enabling them to be remunerated for practices that contribute to the objectives of maintaining non-productive elements and areas on arable land (see EUROPE 13372/3).
“These proposals are a step in the right direction” and address farmers’ concerns, said Herbert Dorfmann (EPP, Italian). He pointed out that good agricultural and environmental conditions (GAEC) are “a bureaucratic monster”. It is necessary to make it easier to implement these rules, he summarised. “Everything must be implemented as quickly as possible before the end of the European Parliament’s mandate”, he recommended.
“It is necessary to simplify things”, also admitted Clara Aguilera (S&D, Spanish). In her view, the proposal is “timely” and should be adopted during this legislature.
Veronika Vrecionová (ECR, Czech) particularly welcomed the proposal on GAECs 6 and 7, which will enable farmers to “determine the use they make of agricultural land”.
Martin Hlaváček (Renew Europe, Czech) called on the Commission to take a firmer stance on imports of agricultural products from Ukraine into the EU (see other news).
A CAP that is decoupled from environmental requirements. Martin Häusling (Greens/EFA, German) described as “undemocratic” the procedure provided for the swift adoption of this text, a text that will “decouple the CAP from the environment”. “What you're proposing is rubbish”, he told the Commissioner for Agriculture. Mr Häusling would have liked to see measures to increase the prices offered to farmers.
MEPs also welcomed the content of the Commission's document on strengthening the position of farmers in the food supply chain. Ms Aguilera advocated the adoption of a regulation instead of the existing directive. “Supply chains need to be tamed”, said Martin Hlaváček. “We cannot accept centralised pricing”, said Veronika Vrecionová.
Janusz Wojciechowski, the European Commissioner for Agriculture, admitted that exceptional events, including the war in Ukraine, have disrupted the implementation of the CAP. Farmers should be encouraged rather than penalised, replied the Commissioner to the concerns expressed by Martin Häusling. Diversification is being advocated in place of crop rotation, explained Janusz Wojciechowski on GAEC 7. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)