EU Agriculture Report Calls for CAP Subsidy Reform, Less Bureaucracy and New Sustainability

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The European Commission received the report on Wednesday future of European agriculture, drafted by a group of experts and representatives of farmers, agri-food businesses, civil society, financial institutions and academia.

The group, so-called Strategic dialogue led by German Peter Strohschneiderworked for over seven months to draft the report, over 100 pages that outline a vision for the future of agri-food systems and EU policy in this regard.

Announced by President Ursula von der Leyen in her State of the Union address last year, the dialogue on the future of agriculture has been designed to address growing divisions over emissions reduction targets and their financial impact on farmers in Europe.

What does the report on the future of agriculture and the EU common policy indicate?

The report stresses the urgency of reform EU food policy and improve cooperation between the actors involved in the production chain, from farmers to large-scale distribution.

In particular, the expert group recommends a reform of agricultural subsidies to member countries, moving “from the current non-degressive payments based on area” to a approach considered more effective than “income support”.

The reference is to the disputed direct payments to farmers calculated per cultivated hectare, which make up around 75 per cent of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and which are believed to excessively advantage large farms.

“The shared opinion of the members of the strategic dialogue is very clear: public money should not be spent on those who do not need it“, Peter Strohschneider, former chairman of a similar commission set up by the German government, told Euronews.

“The recommendation is to make the CAP fit for purpose” reward sustainable farming practicesadded Strohschneider.

“We will carefully study the recommendations, which will then flow into our activity,” he said. declared in a press conference von der Leyenwho has pledged to present a roadmap within the first 100 days of her new term.

New hypotheses for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)

One of the most ambitious proposals of the Strohschneider report is the creation of a Fund for the just transition in the agri-food sector, intended to support farmers with loans or grants towards the adoption of more sustainable production practices.

The report also addresses the issue of environmental obligations whose compliance is necessary to obtain subsidies from the EUa theme that has been at the heart of farmers’ protests across Europe this year against the previous strategy Farm to Fork.

The group suggested “offering only a package of voluntary measures approved by the Commission”, i.e. promoting environmental practices without making them mandatory, and reducing bureaucracy.

The importance of was also underlined include in the principle of sustainability not only ecological concerns, but also economic profitability for farmers, and to place it under the supervision of an ad hoc body to carry out the strategic dialogue on European agriculture.