• The European Commission announces a package of measures to simplify the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to reduce the bureaucratic burden on Member States and make it more efficient.
• The new measures continue the changes undertaken last year.
• This initiative is in line with the European Union's new "Competitiveness Compass" and supports the resilience and digitalization of the agricultural sector, as well as generational renewal and organic farming.

On May 14, the European Commission (EC) announced a new package of measures to simplify the Common Agricultural Policy ( CAP ) and boost farmers' competitiveness, taking into account new geopolitical, social and consumer trends, as well as to promote the much-needed reduction in the bureaucratic and administrative burden of the CAP by Member States and the agri-food sector.

These new measures join those already launched in March 2024 , in which the EC Commission addressed the conditionality or "Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions" (GEC) of the CAP, while also addressing new measures to improve the position of farmers in the food supply chain.

On this occasion, the EC is focusing on implementing legislative changes in the following areas:

• Payment scheme : The changes could save farmers up to €1.58 billion annually and national governments €210 million.
• Environmental controls : The EC is now proposing specific solutions through a set of concrete legislative changes based on on-the-ground experience and extensive feedback from stakeholders and Member States.
• Crisis management : The crisis reserve is restructured to its original focus as a market management instrument to deal exclusively with market disturbances.
• Competitiveness and digitalization : a new financing option to improve the competitiveness of agricultural holdings.

Simplifications in payment management and tracking

The new draft regulation proposes the elimination of the annual income tax return, a procedure that involved a considerable administrative burden and carried the risk of financial corrections contemplated in the regulations.

In eco-regimes and agri-environmental commitments , payment per unit of livestock is authorized for livestock commitments and payment per hive for practices related to improvements in beekeeping measures.

Furthermore, the EC has incorporated into its legislative proposal an increase in the limit on financial support provided by the European Union to operational programs for fruit and vegetable producer organizations (FPOs). The EC proposal provides these organizations with access to additional support of 0.5% of the value of marketed production.

Simplification of environmental controls

The aim is to adapt the CAP to local practices, while avoiding overlap with existing national rules:

1. The EC considers that certified organic farms automatically meet EU environmental funding requirements.
2. Additionally, for some of the more stringent requirements, farmers can benefit from incentives to protect peatlands and wetlands, as set out in “Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition 2 (GEC 2).”
3. Regarding controls, only one on-site control per year will be carried out per farm, exclusively through the use of satellites and new technologies.

Crisis management

The use of the agricultural reserve is refocused exclusively on addressing market disturbances , excluding its use for situations arising from natural disasters, adverse weather events or catastrophic events.

Competitiveness and digitalization

The EC has created a new financing option offering up to €50,000 to help improve the competitiveness of agricultural holdings. To this end, it urges national administrations to develop digital systems where farmers only need to submit their data once, through a single system, saving time, reducing administrative costs, and improving farm management.

Next steps

This proposal is currently being debated in the Council and must also be submitted to the European Parliament, with approval not expected until late autumn.

The EC will propose new simplification measures later this year aimed at reducing controls and reducing the reporting burden from farmers to the administration. These steps are outlined in a roadmap .

The upcoming measures will target cross-cutting policies affecting farmers, agri-food companies, and government agencies.