The European Commission approved the first package of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) strategic plans on Wednesday (31 August) after months of back and forth between the EU executive and member states.

The first seven countries to win the Commission’s seal of approval include Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Poland, Portugal, and Spain, and more are hot on their heels, according to EU Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski.

Through these plans, member states set out an individualised action plan of how they intend to meet the nine objectives of the new €270 billion reform, which will enter into force on 1 January 2023.

However, the design and adoption of these plans, which were submitted to the Commission for its approval back at the beginning of this year, were significantly disrupted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, resulting in plans being sent back to the drawing board for an overhaul.

Acknowledging the hardships that the sector has faced this year, the Commissioner hailed this as an “important step” for the implementation of the new CAP.

“This step comes at a crucial moment, when the importance of providing robust support for our farming sector has become abundantly clear,” he said in a statement, stressing that farming is a long-term business and European farmers “need to have a clear legal and financial framework for the future.”

“The new CAP will help us to support stable farming livelihoods and long-term food security by fostering a smart, competitive, resilient and diversified agricultural sector,” he concluded.

The news of the first approvals will come as a welcome relief to EU farmers, who have long impressed the importance of a speedy approval process in order to give farmers the necessary certainty to plan for the new year.

However, others were more reserved.

Reacting to the news, senior head of policy at campaign group BirdLife Europe, Ariel Brunner, questioned on Twitter whether the plans had undergone the necessary changes outlined in the Commission’s observation letters to reach the EU’s environmental ambitions.

“​​We’ll be looking closely at whether any EC observations have been taken on board by national government or whether the EC just capitulated, again handing over billions to the usual guys doing the usual things,” he said.

After this first batch of CAP plan approvals, the European Commission said it remains “fully committed” to quick approval of the 21 remaining plans, taking into account the “quality and timeliness of reactions” following the Commission’s observations.

“The Commission will continue to provide guidance to make the best use of what the CAP has to offer for our farmers, rural communities, and our citizens as a whole,” they said.

[Edited by Nathalie Weatherald]

Source: Euractiv.com