18/12/2025 (Agence Europe) – On Thursday 18 December, the EU Council formally adopted the ‘package’ for simplifying the rules of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The legislative act will be published in the Official Journal of the EU in the next few days and will enter into force on the day following its publication (see EUROPE 13774/8). The text allows certified farmers to comply de facto with Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions (GAEC) 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 and, as is already the case, 7, as far as their organic production units and in-conversion production units are concerned. The annual payment for each farmer does not exceed €3,000 and there is a flat-rate aid of €75,000 for the development of small farms. Link to text: https://aeur.eu/f/k33 (LC)