• The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA) sent to the Autonomous Communities, as Regional Management Authorities, a proposal to modify the CAP Strategic Plan (PEPAC), which will serve as a basis for initiating dialogue with the EC.
• These changes include reducing controls on farmers to minimize administrative burdens and adding short- and medium-term measures—on top of existing ones—to improve farmers' position in the food supply chain.

On March 15, the European Commission (EC) proposed reviewing certain provisions of the current Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) relating to two areas:

• Conditionality or “Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions” (GACE) .
• Measures to improve the position of farmers in the food supply chain .

These amendments include reducing controls on farmers to minimize administrative burdens and offering greater flexibility to meet certain environmental conditions. The EC also plans to add short- and medium-term measures to existing ones to improve farmers' position in the food supply chain.

This proposal will be discussed at the next Council meeting with EU agriculture ministers on March 24 and 25.

The adjustments would be implemented in the CAP Strategic Plan Regulations of each Member State.

Modifications on conditionality

The environmentally and climate-friendly rules known as “Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions” (GAEC) are also referred to as “conditionalities,” as most CAP payments received by farmers are tied to this set of rules.

The first year of implementation of the CAP Strategic Plans has made it clear that adjustments are needed to ensure the plans' effective implementation and reduce bureaucracy. The new legislative proposal for amendments complements the short-term actions already undertaken by the EC.

Proposals to be reviewed:

• BCAM 8 on non-productive features : EU farmers will no longer be required to dedicate a minimum portion of their cropland to non-productive areas, such as fallow land. Instead, they can voluntarily choose to keep part of their arable land non-productive or establish new landscape features (such as hedges or trees). This will incentivize all EU farmers to maintain non-productive areas beneficial to biodiversity without fear of losing income.
• BCAM 7 on crop rotation : EU farmers will be able to meet this requirement by choosing to rotate or diversify their crops, depending on the conditions they face and whether their country chooses to include the crop diversification option in their Plan. This flexibility to carry out crop diversification instead of just rotation will allow the measure to be implemented during periods of drought or flooding.
• BCAM 6 on land cover during sensitive periods : Member States will decide what constitutes “sensitive periods” and the practices permitted to meet this requirement, depending on their national and regional conditions and climatic circumstances.
• The EC also proposes that Member States may exempt certain crops, soil types, or farming systems from compliance with the requirements on tillage, soil cover, and crop rotation/diversification (GAECS 5, 6, and 7, respectively).
• Ploughing will also be exempt for restoring permanent pastures in Natura 2000 areas in the event of damage due to predators or invasive species (BCAM 9).
• In extreme cases of adverse weather conditions that prevent adequate agricultural work to meet cross-compliance, Member States may also introduce temporary derogations , which will be limited in time and only for the beneficiaries affected.
• Small farms with less than 10 hectares are exempt from controls and penalties related to compliance with cross-compliance requirements in the Commission's proposal for the CAP revision. This will significantly reduce the administrative burden related to controls for small farmers, who represent 65% of CAP beneficiaries. This does not mean that they are exempt from complying with the GCB requirements, but rather from controls and penalties.

Deadlines and environmental balance

The EC intends for some measures to be implemented as early as 2024, as many of the new cross-compliance proposals will be applied retroactively from 1 January 2024 and will therefore be effective for this year's single application.

The Commission believes that the simplification proposals are aimed at maintaining the high level of environmental and climate standards required by the current green architecture of the CAP. Thus, the revision of the Regulation on the CAP Strategic Plans   It seeks a balance between the need for the CAP to support the transition to sustainable agriculture, the expectations of farmers and Member States, and the objective of reaching a rapid agreement between the European Parliament and the Council.

Spain's position

On March 15 , the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food (MAPA) sent the Autonomous Communities, as Regional Management Authorities, a proposal to modify the CAP Strategic Plan (PEPAC), which will serve as a basis for initiating dialogue with the EC.

What changes does Spain's position include?

• Regarding enhanced conditionality , the proposal incorporates the flexibilities already included by the Commission.
• It is proposed to make the requirements for agricultural land use reduction (BCAM) that farmers and ranchers must meet in order to receive full CAP support more flexible . Specifically, those relating to tillage management (BCAM 5), minimum soil cover requirements (BCAM 6), and crop rotation (BCAM 7). It is proposed to abolish the requirement to allocate part of the farm area to non-productive land (BCAM 8).
• Make eco-regimes more flexible, specifically those designed to encourage livestock farmers in the Cornisa region to adopt larger areas of pasture, particularly in sustainable mowing practices and biodiversity islands.
• Modifications to mulch and ground cover practices in woody crops, especially in dryland plantations, where these covers are more difficult to establish. These covers will be permitted in alternating rows, along with grazing in them, and vertical tillage during certain periods.
• Modifications to rural development interventions submitted by the Regional Management Authorities range from the inclusion of new interventions to changes in their design and financial allocations.

The implementation of these proposals is conditional, on the one hand, on the Commission's approval of the PEPAC amendment, and, on the other, on the adoption by the European Parliament and the European Council of the text detailed above.

To consult the process of modifications to the Strategic Plan you can go to here .