Simplification of agriculture rules is victory for farmers

The EPP Group welcomes the simplification and easing of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) rules, which have been adopted by the European Parliament today.

“The result of the vote is a victory for European farmers and our food security," says MEP Norbert Lins, the Chairman of the Parliament’s Agriculture Committee.

“As farmers will no longer be required to dedicate a minimum part of their arable land to non-productive areas, the result will ease the economic burden of the farms and also improve our European production," Lins says. “For small farms, it is fair to have an exemption from the controls and penalties under the conditionality regime," he adds. 

“The EPP Group stands with the European farmers and rural communities. We have strongly advocated for relaxing CAP conditionality rules and removing unnecessary bureaucratic burdens and have been calling for more simplification and flexibility for farmers for many years," says MEP Herbert Dorfmann, the EPP Group's Spokesman on Agriculture

Dorfmann underlines that today’s decision will also reduce centralism by giving Member States more flexibility to decide which soils to protect and in which season. Each country can also decide to replace crop rotation with crop diversification.  

“The EPP Group has consistently opposed the extremely strict conditionality regime introduced in the CAP 2023-27. The decision shows that under our leadership, the EU can improve its food security and farmers’ ability to earn a decent income," underline Lins and Dorfmann.