Questions and answers on the Common Agricultural Policy simplification package

European Commission - Questions and answers Questions and answers on the Common Agricultural Policy simplification package Brussels, 14 May 2025 What exactly is the Commission proposing? The Commission proposes to alleviate unnecessary administrative burden on farmers and administrations and move to a more flexible implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), better reflecting the diversity of EU farming and local environments. Delivering concrete results in terms of simplification, competitiveness, resilience and digitalisation, the changes could save up to €1.58 billion annually for farmers and €210 million for national administrations. The proposal presented today delivers on the Vision for Agriculture and Food adopted on 19 February 2025, which outlines a roadmap for a competitive, resilient, and fair agri-food system. Aligned with the EU Competitiveness Compass, the Vision calls for reducing unnecessary red tape to enhance competitiveness. Farmers across the EU face several challenges due to excessive administrative obligations that often fail to reflect the realities on the ground. This regulatory burden incurs costs and time for farmers and national administrations. It leads to lower acceptance of obligations and may also discourage investment. This regulatory burden slows down farm operations, drains resources, discourages innovation and investment and leads to low acceptance of requirements by farmers. To tackle these challenges, the Commission...