Wed. Mar 26th, 2025

Main results of the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council, 27 January 2025

Jan 28, 2025 , , , ,

Brussels, 27 January 2025

Simplification of the CAP

The Council held an exchange of views on the potential simplification of certain elements of the common agricultural policy (CAP), with particular focus on the annual performance clearance procedure and mandatory environmental and climate measures (‘green architecture’).

The Polish presidency will work on simplifying the common agricultural policy. The goal should be to make life easier for farmers and reduce the administrative burden. We also talked today about simplifying the CAP settlement procedure, and there is clear support from ministers in this regard.

Czesław Siekierski, Polish Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development

Many member states argued that the financial and administrative burden of the performance clearance procedure was unduly excessive. Some called on the Commission to amend the basic legislation of the CAP; others called for greater flexibility in implementing the green architecture, such as by limiting requirements to what is strictly necessary, providing further derogations, or increasing rewards for farmers. A number of ministers stressed the need for greater efficiency and flexibility when amending the CAP strategic plans.

The Commissioner reiterated his commitment to reducing the administrative burden on farmers and noted that he would propose the removal of the annual performance clearance requirement as part of a further simplification package during the first half of this year. He stressed the importance of maintaining the environmental ambitions and warned against making profound changes to the CAP during the current programming period, as this may create uncertainty for farmers.

 

Strengthening the position of farmers in the agri-food chain

Following a presentation from the Commission, ministers exchanged views on two recently published legislative proposals that aim to strengthen the position of farmers in the agri-food supply chain and respond to some of the most pressing challenges that the agricultural sector faces.

The proposed regulation on cross-border enforcement against unfair trading practices (UTPs) seeks to further strengthen enforcement in business-to-business relationships in the agricultural and food supply chain, while the proposed targeted amendments to the common market organisation (CMO) regulation aim to achieve a higher degree of trust between actors, through measures such as better rules for contracts between farmer and buyers, mandatory mediation mechanisms and enhancing producer organisations and their associations.

During the discussion, ministers took the floor to express support for the aims of the two proposals and stressed the need to boost farmers’ bargaining power and improve cross-border cooperation on UTPs, with many highlighting the measures aimed at benefitting young farmers. Some member states were sceptical about amendments to the CMO, including the introduction of a mandatory mediation mechanism, the generalised use of written contracts, and measures to encourage farmers to join producer organisations, while others welcomed these initiatives.

A number of ministers raised concerns about the potential administrative and financial burden. There were also calls for an impact assessment of the proposals, for further work at the technical level, and for the amendments to reflect recent recommendations put forward by the High-Level Group on Wine Policy. The Commission took on board the points raised and stressed the importance of adopting the regulations quickly.

 

Trade-related agricultural issues

The Council discussed the latest developments in agrifood trade issues, with a particular emphasis on:

  • the impact of agrifood trade on EU farmers
  • non-tariff barriers to trade with countries outside the EU

Ministers highlighted the importance of agrifood trade for the EU’s agriculture sector, particularly in view of the current geopolitical uncertainties. In this respect they discussed the prospect of a reserve of at least €1 billion to insure against any potential negative impact of the Mercosur agreement. Some delegations welcomed the recently concluded agreement between the EU and Mexico.

Member states also called for further assessment of the cumulative effects of agrifood trade on the EU’s agricultural sector. They stressed the need for fair competition between EU and non-EU markets. In this context many delegations highlighted the need for alignment of production standards in trade with third countries. Sanitary and phytosanitary provisions were identified by most ministers as a key non-tariff barrier to trade.

The Commission noted that there was widespread agreement among member states on the need for fair competition between EU and non-EU producers, and took note of ministers’ request for further analysis of the impact of trade agreements on EU farmers. It further noted the need for a more stable trade environment in relation to agrifood trade with Ukraine.

The ‘other business’ item on fair international trade practices, proposed by Luxembourg, was also taken during this exchange of views.

 

Work programme of the Polish presidency

The Polish presidency presented its work programme, outlining its main priorities. The presidency will focus in particular on the following key topics: food security, improving the competitiveness of agriculture and the agri-food sector, increasing resilience to crises, stabilisation of farmers’ income, and strengthening the position of farmers in the food supply chain.

 

Other business

Under ‘other business’, the following topics were raised:

 

Watch the recording of the public sessions

 

Preparatory documents

 

Outcome documents

 

Press releases

Source – EU Council

 

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