On Wednesday 24 September, the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee amended the proposal to simplify certain rules under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), in order to provide greater flexibility and support for farmers.
The MEPs’ position was adopted with 38 votes in favour, 8 against and 2 abstentions, under a simplified procedure (amendments without report) led by André Rodrigues (S&D, Portuguese). The European Parliament vote is scheduled for the plenary session from 6 to 9 October (see EUROPE 13701/15).
The 11 compromise amendments negotiated by Mr Rodrigues were adopted (not including the other amendments).
MEPs agreed that not only fully certified organic farms, but also partially certified farms and those located in specific conservation areas should automatically be considered as complying with Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition (GAEC) numbers 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7.
MEPs have extended the period required for grassland to be considered permanent. There is a plan to extend the definition of permanent grassland to land that has not been included in the crop rotation and that has not been ploughed, worked or reseeded for at least seven years, as well as to land that was not classified as arable on 1 January 2023.
MEPs have removed references to a new direct payment for farmers who have suffered the effects of natural disasters. They approved the creation of new crisis funding from rural development funds and added outbreaks of epizootic diseases to the list of events justifying this type of aid.
They lowered the threshold for production losses or average annual income giving entitlement to aid from 20% (as proposed by the Commission) to 15%, to enable a greater number of farmers to benefit from national financial contributions to insurance premiums or mutual funds.
MEPs have increased the annual payment for small farmers to €5,000 (up from €2,500 in the original proposal) and introduced a new single payment for business development of up to €75,000. Finally, they have reduced from three to two months the deadline for the Commission to approve a request from the Member States for major changes to the national strategic plans. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)