Brussels, 24 November 2022
Today, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) strategic plans of Czechia and Slovakia, respectively worth €5.6 billion and €3.3 billion, were approved by the Commission. They represent a total EU budget of €8.9 billion. Out of the total EU budget of these two countries, €3 billion will be dedicated to environmental and climate objectives and eco-schemes and more than €200 million to young farmers.
A key objective of Czechia‘s plan is the fairer distribution and more effective targeting of income support. In terms of environmental priorities, focus is on the protection of natural resources and biodiversity. Under the Czech plan, the agricultural area with CAP support for organic farming should increase from the current 16% to 21% by 2027. Finally, the CAP will invest in rural areas to slow down depopulation and strengthen rural employment. It is expected that more than 1,700 jobs will be created thanks to the CAP’s funding.
Slovakia‘s plan aims to increase its agricultural sector’s competitiveness and resilience while protecting natural resources. An additional annual support of €370 million will help Slovak farmers in areas facing natural constraints, as 61% of Slovak agricultural land falls into such category. With the help of the CAP’s support, the Slovak plan aspires to have 20% of its agricultural land farmed organically by 2030. Rural development is also a big part of Slovakia’s plan as it will support the creation of 1,500 jobs and 430 rural businesses.
The new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), set to start on 1 January 2023, is designed to shape the transition to a sustainable, resilient and modern European agricultural sector. The CAP will benefit from €270 billion in funding for the 2023-2027 period. More information on each plan as well as the breakdown of their CAP budget is available in the “at a glance” documents and more information are available in our news item online.
Source – EU Commission