In the draft resolution adopted by the Agriculture and Rural Development Committee (AGRI) by 38 votes to 8 and with 2 abstentions, MEPs call for further flexibility and support for farmers in complying with common agricultural policy (CAP) rules.

Environmental requirements

MEPs backed a series of changes to introduce more flexibility into how farms can abide by the CAP’s environmental rules.

More specifically, they agreed 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).

To protect the environment and biodiversity, MEPs want to prolong even further the time it takes for grassland to be considered permanent. This is partly to discourage farmers from ploughing it, for arable use, just before the end of the period. The…