Mini CAP, EU Parliament agreement for more money but less rules for farmers

Brussels – More aid and fewer rules for farmers: a big yes by the EU Parliament. The preliminary agreement reached by the co-legislators of the Parliament and the European Council was confirmed today in Strasbourg with 629 votes in favour, 17 against, and 16 abstentions. Essentially, no political force even thought of opposing the new common agricultural policy (CAP) rules, which provide more flexibility and support for farmers.

The novelties of this mini-PAC will mainly affect small farms. The financial support allocated by the Union is to be €3,000 per year, instead of €2,500 as proposed by the Commission, plus a one-off contribution for business development of up to €75,000, and not €50,000 as proposed by the Commission.

It is precisely the body chaired by Ursula von der Leyen that has emerged defeated from the confrontation between the various legislators. The adjustments made by the Parliament and the Council aim at simpler and more flexible rules for farmers. For example, the provisional regulation exempts them from the obligation to plough their fields every year: land will be classified as arable even if it is not ploughed, cultivated, or reseeded. Officially, it is a rule to “preserve biodiversity”, but in reality, it is a pretext to save farmers the costly process of tilling their fields. The Portuguese rapporteur, André Rodrigues (S&D), however, promised that “we can have simpler rules and better support, without weakening environmental and social safeguards.”

Simpler rules will also be introduced for organic farmers: they will always be considered compliant with the Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions (GAEC) and will not face any additional controls beyond those already required for organic farmer recognition.

Flexibility also rhymes with fewer inspections: the preliminary agreement states that inspections will be carried out on a “one-off” basis, i.e., farmers will not receive more than one inspection a year. Among the Italian members of the European Parliament, Salvatore De Meo of Forza Italia (EPP) expressed his optimism about the EU’s new direction to ANSA: “We have long been calling for a more concrete Europe, less ideological and closer to the needs of the agricultural sector and production chains. This pragmatic approach emerges from the new European plan to simplify the CAP, which reduces bureaucracy and strengthens confidence in farmers.”

Before entering into force, the regulation now awaits formal confirmation by the Council.