Today, the European Commission presented its third simplification package — this time focused on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) — aimed at reducing administrative burdens, easing controls, and proposing crisis response mechanisms within the framework of the 2023–2027 CAP. This initiative comes in response to the 2024 farmers’ protests and aligns with the broader objectives of the European Competitiveness Agenda.
In principle, Copa and Cogeca support both the approach and the strong language used by Commissioners Hansen, Fitto, and Dombrovskis during the presentation of the package. For years, our organisations have been calling for common-sense simplification measures, changes that would allow farmers to focus more on managing their farms and also help enhance the competitiveness of EU agricultural production.
The regulation now on the table includes numerous technical provisions and detailed proposals that require in-depth analysis — a task Copa and Cogeca will undertake with their members, in light of the proposals made following the 2024 protests and once again earlier this year.
This is now the second corrective package on the CAP presented by the Commission within a single year. This fact should serve as a lesson for the future and shape our discussions going forward: the agricultural sector needs policies that are coherent, meaningful, and implementable.
These principles must apply not only within the CAP but across all EU policies that impact agriculture. In that regard, we have high expectations for the simplification measures already announced outside the CAP framework, as they too will directly affect the sector. Finally, we stress that future simplification efforts must not undermine the common nature of the CAP or open the door to uncontrolled renationalisation.
Fonte: Copa Cogeca
