MEPs backed changes today (Wednesday, September 24) to "simplify" the current EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

Members of the Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI) Committee voted for the first time on the simplification of EU agriculture laws while highlighting that they want more flexibility and support for farmers overall.

The European Commission unveiled its "simplification package" for the current CAP back in May and MEPs have tabled a number of amendments in response.

The AGRI committee's adopted position on the the simplification package, seeks more flexibility for farmers on keeping land in "good agricultural and environmental condition".

MEPs have specified that not only farms that are certified as entirely organic, but also farms where only some parts are certified as organic and farms situated in special conservation areas, should be automatically considered as meeting some of the requirements to maintain land in good agricultural and environmental condition (GAEC).

Rapporteur Andre Rodrigues said the AGRI committee report is an important step that farmers across Europe have long been waiting for.

"This will help farmers and, in turn, hopefully also enable consumers to continue to access quality, safe and more affordable products.”

MEPs on the AGRI committee want to "prolong even further the time it takes for grassland to be considered permanent".

They said this is partly to discourage farmers from ploughing it, for arable use, just before the end of the period.

"The proposal is to expand the definition of permanent grassland to include land that has not been included in the crop rotation and has not been ploughed, tilled or reseeded for at least seven years, or land that was not classified as arable as of January 1, 2023," they outlined.

MEPs are also against the proposed new type of direct payment for farmers who have been affected by natural disasters.

However MEPs agree with the new crisis payment under rural development funds proposed by the commission, and have added animal disease outbreaks to the list of events which farmers should received aid for.

The AGRI committee's position outlines a proposal to lower the threshold of average annual production or income in losses, from at least 20%, proposed by the commission, to at least 15%, so that more farmers are eligible for national financial contributions to premiums for insurance schemes or to mutual funds.

MEPs have proposed increasing maximum limits for the support for small farmers - with an annual payment to up to €5,000, rather than the proposed €2,500, and a new one-off payment for business development of up to €75,000.

Members of the AGRI committee also want to shorten the time the European Commission would have to approve member states’ requests to make strategic amendments to national strategic plans from three to two months.

The report adopted by AGRI is now expected to be put to a vote during the October 6-9 plenary session.

Talks with member states will then start afterwards, to potentially enable the final adoption of the new rules during a November plenary session.