Remarks by Executive Vice-President Fitto, Commissioner Dombrovskis and Commissioner Hansen on simplifying the Common Agricultural Policy to support farmers and enhance competitiveness
Executive Vice-President Raffaele Fitto
The proposal we are presenting today is a clear and concrete step forward. It is grounded firmly in President von der Leyen’s political guidelines. And it reflects our broader vision for a more competitive, resilient, and sustainable Europe.
At the heart of this proposal lies a simple but powerful idea: to foster prosperity by enhancing the EU’s competitiveness – not through more complexity, but through less.
The combination of the many measures in today’s proposal represents a well-balanced approach between economic, environmental and social factors. It simplifies the Common Agriculture Policy while ensuring stability for farmers.
It made clear that the role of farmers is not only economic, but deeply social and cultural.
We must empower farmers to succeed – as entrepreneurs, as providers, and as innovators. That means freeing them from the weight of unnecessary bureaucracy and regulation. We cannot ask them to feed Europe while tying their hands with red tape.
We promised a new approach – and today, we are delivering on that promise.
Today’s proposal follows months of structured dialogue with farmers, national authorities, and stakeholders across Europe. We listened. We gathered feedback. And on this I want to thank and underline the big effort Commissioner Hansen is doing, going around and listening to the voices of agriculture all around Europe.
We are at a sensitive and strategic phase in implementing the current CAP. We are two years into the implementation period. And now, with that experience, we know what works – and what needs to change.
Thanks to the close collaboration with the agricultural sector, we have the intelligence we need to make smart, targeted improvements. And – critically – we still have enough time ahead of us to adjust course and make a meaningful impact before the end of the programming period.
This is a moment of responsibility, and a moment of opportunity.
Timing is everything. That’s why this Commission is acting quickly – and with precision. We are using the tools available within the existing CAP framework to deliver tangible, immediate results.
Let me be clear: this is not just a technical adjustment – it is a political choice. A choice to stand with our farmers.
A choice to drive long-term sustainability and competitiveness – not through centralisation, but through flexibility and trust.
We are giving Member States more flexibility. We are reducing complexity. We are making it easier to use CAP instruments effectively – especially in support of digital innovation, risk and crisis management, and modern farm practices.
This is part of a broader political direction. We are applying the same principles in cohesion policy, where we have proposed a forward-looking modernisation to align with Europe’s evolving priorities. Both efforts are rooted in the same ambition: to make Europe’s policies work better.
And when we reduce bureaucracy and remove obstacles, we unleash potential.
We create space for farmers to thrive. We strengthen the foundation of our food systems. And we contribute to Europe’s strategic autonomy and sustainable growth.
I will leave now the floor to Commissioner Dombrovskis whom I thank for his huge work and effort on simplification.
Thank you.
Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis
Good afternoon everyone.
The package of measures that we are presenting today is another important milestone in the delivery of our ambitious simplification agenda.
First, let me to take a step back and place them in a broader context.
Europe must urgently take decisive action to secure our long-term prosperity.
That imperative lies at the heart of the European Commission’s competitiveness agenda.
We need to become more dynamic, innovative and productive to compete effectively in the world.
Simplification – or, put simply, cutting red tape – is a central element of building a competitive Europe.
The scale of the challenge is clear.
Today, regulation is seen by more than 60% of EU companies as an obstacle to investment.
And 55% of SMEs flag regulatory obstacles and administrative burdens as their greatest challenge.
These SMEs account for 99% of EU businesses altogether, including a large proportion of agri-businesses.
The sheer volume of regulatory demands is stifling innovation, deterring investment, and putting jobs at risk.
While I have been tasked with driving and coordinating work the Commission’s work on simplification, each Commissioner is responsible for stress-testing the EU acquis under their respective portfolios.
The aim is to review the whole acquis by the end of the current mandate.
We have set out ambitious targets for all administrative costs: reducing them by 25% for all companies and 35% for SMEs.
This translates into cutting approximately €37.5 billion in annual administrative costs by the end of this Commission’s mandate.
This work is already underway.
In February, we introduced our first two proposals to simplify EU rules in the fields of sustainability reporting, sustainability due-diligence, taxonomy and public investments.
A conservative estimate puts the annual savings stemming from these two packages at €6.3 billion.
But this was just the beginning.
The Commission’s Work Programme for this year outlines a long list of proposals that will focus on simplification.
Today, we present our measures for the agricultural sector.
Next, we will come forward with further proposals targeting small mid-cap enterprises.
Later this year, we will introduce further packages, including for the defence and digital sectors.
But for now, let us zoom in on today’s proposals.
We are all aware of the central importance of farming and the broader agri-sector for Europe’s economy, autonomy and security.
This is especially true at a time of great and growing global uncertainty.
Therefore, it is essential that Europe’s farmers benefit from rules that are simpler, more proportionate, and better tailored to their needs.
The Commission has engaged extensively with farmers’ representatives and other stakeholders to identify where we can best target measures to address the significant challenges farmers face.
These consultations have informed the package of measures we are presenting today.
We are expanding the simplified payment scheme to substantially reduce administrative burdens linked to the application process for direct payments.
We are removing unnecessary layers of regulation to make it easier for farmers to understand and implement the rules on environmental requirements.
We are reducing pressure and burden on farmers linked to the controls and other on-farm visits, moving towards a one control per year principle.
We are harnessing the potential of digitalisation to reduce reporting burdens for farmers.
We are also reducing the administrative burdens for national administrations.
In short, we want to help our agricultural sector to concentrate on farming and not forms.
Taken together, we estimate that the measures contained in today’s proposals will bring savings of up to nearly €1.6 billion per year for Europe’s farmers and more than €200 million in savings per year for national administrations.
To conclude, today’s package shows that we have already made a strong start in delivering our simplification agenda.
We are moving quickly and with purpose.
One could say, to borrow a farming term, that we are “taking the bull by the horns”.
I hope that today’s package of measures sends a clear message to Europe’s farmers.
We hear you.
We value you.
We are committed to supporting you.
Thank you.
‘Check against delivery’
Commissioner Christophe Hansen
Good afternoon,
I want to thank Executive Vice-President Raffaele Fitto and Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis for setting the scene so well and presenting what difference we want to make in farmers’ lives and for national administrations who manage the Common Agricultural Policy.
This policy, established more than 60 years ago, made our continent self-sufficient for food. It is a vital safety net and support for our farmers and the agri-food sector. But this potential should not be eroded by excessive bureaucracy.
Before presenting to you our proposals in more detail, let me recall that in the Vision for agriculture and food, we asked ourselves how to make farming more attractive for current and future generations, to ensure food sovereignty in the long run.
This is what guided our work. Avoiding by all means that the demands of our policy discourage young or new farmers from entering the profession, or current farmers to stop farming because it is just not worth the time spent on bureaucracy.
I met last week a young farmer from the Netherlands who said that she granted herself one week of holiday last year. In an entire year. To make things worse, the study we present today show that – in addition to their all-year-round farm work – farmers spend on average 7 full working days a year on administration. So, it seems that this one holiday week may be spent on filling in forms instead.
The need to act was clear. The requests of Member States and stakeholders for a simplified policy have been heard.
First, we will make it easier for small farmers to apply for aid thanks to a simplified payment scheme. We want to increase the uptake of this scheme by Member States. Farmers who would receive up to €2500 per year will not have to fill in detailed claims any longer and will no longer have to provide documentation related to compliance with conditionalities.
Small and medium-sized farmers are the backbone of our rural areas and we will better target our support towards them.
Second, we had to do a reality check of the environmental requirements of the Common Agricultural Policy known as conditionalities, or GAECs for good agro-environmental conditions. Farmers we surveyed consistently identified these conditionalities as the most challenging CAP requirements.
Let me be very clear: we are in the greenest CAP ever and this direction will not change. But we do see that it is difficult to impose a unique and standardised set of rules to a highly diverse sector, faced with very different environmental conditions. Farmers from some Member States may feel a higher responsibility and face higher costs for certain requirements. Similarly, the agricultural sector has gone through structural changes in recent years, which needs to be better reflected in our rules.
The Vision for agriculture and food set the path for a more territorial and tailored approach. This is what we are delivering today. Member States will have more responsibility in how they implement certain requirements through their national law, provided they pursue the same objectives.
If the CAP conditionalities overlap with existing mandatory national requirements, we will consider them as equivalent, and no additional requirements will have to be set for farmers. For them, this can reduce time spent on getting acquainted with several different rules, while still serving the environmental objectives of the standards.
We also want to give Member States the possibility to financially compensate farmers for the possible costs and the impact on their income of complying with the conditionality on wetlands and peatlands, the GAEC number 2.
In the same spirit, we are introducing more flexibility in the management of permanent grassland, which is also more beneficial for environment. For example, we are granting a longer time limit, 7 years, for the land to be classified as permanent grassland. This approach prevents farmers from unnecessary ploughing to avoid permanent grassland designation, thus preserving soil health. This also helps focus protection on environmentally most valuable grasslands, which tend to be older than 7 years.
These changes will increase the acceptance of environmental requirements linked to CAP support.
We are also removing another layer of complexity for organic farmers specifically. This is a crucial sector that we want to support. We propose to exclude organic farmers from complying with five conditionalities. We are convinced that organic regulation provides a comparative level of protection for the environment and climate.
That brings me to controls. Evidence shows that controls on farm are still a burden. Our proposals introduce the principle of a single control per year. We expect Member States to coordinate the timing of different national inspections.
Ladies and gentlemen,
This package is much more than simplification. It is also about boosting competitiveness, in particular of small farms. It is about increasing resilience of the sector, and it is about digitalising national administrations.
For example, small farms can receive a lump sum of €50 000 to help them grow their business. We are working in parallel to improve access to finance for the sector.
We cannot speak about agriculture without speaking of resilience. I do not need to remind you that climate disasters are multiplying in recent years. Drought, floods, storms impact yields, animals, infrastructures, and result in loss of income. Loss of perspectives. I was in Valencia to witness the impact of the DANA on agricultural areas. The CAP needs to be more responsive to manage risks and crisis.
We are giving Member States the possibility to create a national crisis intervention fund within their CAP Strategic Plan. Member States will be allowed to use CAP funding to compensate farmers affected by natural disasters, animal health diseases or plant pests. We are talking here of 3% of their annual CAP funding.
In general, the CAP needs to become more modern. Digital tools could prove helpful is to reduce the bulk of reporting for farmers. At the moment, farmers have to report similar information to several authorities or private partners.
The EU introduced the single charger, we want to introduce the single digital agricultural profile. We will encourage Member States to set up their system in a way that information will be collected only once and used multiple times. This is the starting work of what we want to achieve with the future CAP in terms of digitalization and modernisation.
Ladies and gentlemen,
You have understood it: our simplification work needs to be closely coordinated with Member States if we want it to be successful. Here, I am saying to national administrations: help me help you.
We are removing the annual performance clearance, which was a way of reporting on the financial implementation of the CAP Strategic Plans. It brought no added-value to our existing, robust system in place to control how EU funds are spent. This deletion was called for by all Member States, so we are happy to deliver on this today.
For national administrations, we are simplifying the amending of CAP Strategic Plans. Only amendments deemed strategic will have to go through our approval process. Others will just be notified.
Change needs to reach farmers and reach them fast.
The key word of our package is pragmatism. We are simplifying the CAP significantly while keeping the foundations and objectives of the policy.
We are striking a balance between the need to have a policy fit for the realities on the ground while safeguarding a certain stability for all agricultural stakeholders.
This pragmatic approach, based on dialogue and on incentives, tailored to local realities, will set the path for the future CAP.
Thank you.
