The European Parliament approved on 24 April a review of the CAP Strategic Plans Regulation and the CAP Horizontal Regulation with 425 votes in favour, 130 against and 33 abstentions.
MEPs adopted the draft law with technical modifications proposed by the Council of the EU and endorsed by the Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture on 15 April 2024.
The CAP review changes the rules for three environmental requirements farmers must meet to receive funding. It also provides more flexibility for EU countries to grant exemptions from CAP standards if there are problems with applying them and in case of issues caused by extreme weather. Small farms under 10 hectares would be exempt from controls and penalties for non-compliance with some CAP rules.
The regulation now has to be approved by the Council of the EU. The Belgian Presidency of the Council has informed the European Parliament that if MEPs endorse the proposal in the form agreed by the European Council’s Special Committee on Agriculture, the European Council will adopt the same text.
If approved by the Council of the EU, the law will be published in the EU Official Journal and enter immediately into force. Farmers would already be allowed to apply revised environmental “conditionalities” for their claims for EU financial support in 2024.