The European Parliament and Council of the European Union have given the green light for the new CAP proposals to become operational in 2023. This decision paves the way for a new CAP aimed at making the policy greener, fairer, more flexible and transparent, with a broader role for networking across both CAP Pillars.
#NewCAP features include reinforced support for biodiversity conservation as well as other EU environmental and climate laws and commitments. Member States will be obliged to ensure that at least 35% of the rural development budget and at least 25% of direct payments will be dedicated to environmental and climate measures. Other features of the #NewCAP include dedicating of least 10% of direct payments to redistribute funds from large to smaller farms, a permanent crisis reserve that can be used when prices or markets are unstable, a new social conditionality to receive CAP payments and a minimum allocation of 3% for young farmers.
In terms of next steps, secondary legislation clarifying CAP implementation details is currently in the works. The most urgent secondary acts will be adopted by the Commission before the end of the year, the rest is expected to be adopted in the first part of 2022. Member States have until 31 December 2021 to submit their CAP Strategic Plan (CSP) proposals. The Commission will then assess these plans and provide its observations to Member States. The Commission has a total of six months to approve the CSPs, as revised by Member States where necessary, in order for them to apply as of 1 January 2023 when the policy enters into application, after its transitional period.
See the statement by Commissioner for Agriculture & Rural Development Janusz Wojciechowski and the read the Council’s press release about the #NewCAP’s approval.
