On Monday 1 September, the members of European Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture discussed possible compromises on amendments to the proposal simplifying certain common agricultural policy (CAP) rules.
The rapporteur on CAP simplification measures, André Rodrigues (S&D, Portuguese), warned: “Simplification is not synonymous with deregulation. This cannot be used as a pretext to remove the European Commission’s obligations” (see EUROPE 13697/7).
With regard to the amendments, he defended the social conditionality applied to the CAP and suggested evaluating its impact by 2026. Mr Rodrigues also advocated flat-rate payments for small farmers to ensure that simplification goes hand in hand with social justice. Regarding the new crisis instruments, he reiterated one principle: no new mechanisms without additional funding, otherwise there would be a risk of redistributing already limited resources and weakening agriculture.
On recognising permanent grassland (GAEC 1), the rapporteur stressed the need to highlight sustainable practices that also enable good yields. “As rapporteur, I would like to create a solid majority, a text that achieves a consensus to really make a difference for farmers in day-to-day life”, Mr Rodrigues summed up.
Herbert Dorfmann (EPP, Italian) pointed out, with regard to the new types of payment (Article 41a), that they would lead to an automatic reduction in the direct payments currently received by farmers. “The EPP therefore supports the compromise aimed at abolishing these payments”.
With regard to GAEC, the EPP Group is calling for all organic farms, as well as those in conversion, to be exempt from the rules. The rapporteur noted that several amendments propose deleting GAECs 2, 5 and 9. “We need to look into this. What about the consequences? We need an analysis of the possible impact on production”, said Mr Dorfmann. Regarding livestock farming, annual payments would provide additional support, and the purchase of livestock could be made eligible.
The PfE group called for cancelling GAECs 1 and 5, which were deemed too rigid and unsuited to local conditions. Soil protection, according to this group, can be ensured by already existing rules.
Maria Georgiana Teodorescu (ECR, Romanian) said she hoped the package would be adopted before the end of October. She asked the European Commission not to confuse this CAP simplification package with negotiations on the post-2027 CAP. She particularly denounced the national cofinancing rate of over 200% proposed by the Commission for climatic disasters, seeing this as a risk of renationalising the CAP.
Christine Singer (Renew Europe, German) proposed that, rather than a seven-year rule for permanent grassland, land classified as fields on 1 January 2023 should retain this status, even if farmed for several years with crop rotation. This would provide legal certainty. With regard to erosion protection (GAEC 5), she asked for this rule to be deleted, believing that GAEC 6 had already achieved the objectives. Finally, on the subject of social conditionality, she proposes that seasonal employment relationships be exempt if they are already covered by national labour inspectorates.
Thomas Waitz (Greens/EFA, Austrian) considered the proposal “fairly balanced”, highlighting several positive developments. He welcomed the simplified controls for farms of less than ten hectares. He supported extending the period from five to seven years for arable land and green fodder, provided that high standards are maintained, such as favouring sowing over ploughing, to improve the fodder’s protein quality. On the other hand, he was opposed to increasing the tolerance threshold for ploughing permanent grassland from 5% to 10%: “5% is enough”. Finally, Mr Waitz advocated maintaining GAEC 4 on buffer zones along watercourses: “Glyphosate is extremely toxic to aquatic ecosystems. It’s the death of the river. This must be prevented”, he said.
The European Commission estimates that the proposed measures could generate savings of €1.58 billion a year, as well as €200 million for national administrations. This simplification would have the greatest impact if it were to apply from 1 January 2026. Once political agreement has been reached, there will still be a need for secondary legislation and to allow Member States to adjust their strategic plans. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)