New CAP delegated and implemented acts approved – Ongoing approval process of CAP national Strategic Plans

On 11 January, the Parliament’s Committee on Agricultural and Rural Development (COMAGRI) approved most of the CAP 2023-2027 Regulations’ delegated and implemented acts. The Commission is expected to draft the remaining ones during the first quarter of 2022.

At the same time, Member States need to submit their CAP Strategic Plans, detailing how they plan to realise the goals set in the CAP 2023-2027. At the time of writing, 19 Member States submitted their CAP Strategic Plans and 8 missed the deadline. The ball is now in the European Commission’s camp to review them.

Briefing on Strategic Plan Regulation’s articles
As IFOAM Organics Europe, we have put together a briefing gathering all the relevant CAP 2023-2027 Strategic Plans Regulation’s Articles for our members. Our members can use this as legal basis to advocate for more support for organic in their national Strategic Plans.

Member States’ CAP national Strategic Plans & organic movement’s feedback to them
Member States had to submit the first draft of their CAP national Strategic Plans by 31 December 2021. Nine countries out of 27 missed the first deadline: Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany,  Romania, Slovakia. The Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania and Luxembourg submitted it later in January.

Based on our members’ feedback, the first draft submitted by the 19 Member States are similar to our November 2021 assessment, meaning that the national Strategic Plans are not ambitious enough to properly support organic farming and reach the 25% target of land under organic production in Europe by 2030. Read more about this on our CAP page.

What’s next?
A consolidated internal report will be available around mid-February on our members’ extranet. This will be ahead of the publication of the Commission’s observation letters, expected by the end of March. The observation letters will provide Member States with recommendations on their CAP Strategic Plans and an assessment whether they comply with the CAP 2023-2027 Strategic Plans Regulations and if they contribute to the overall CAP objectives.

It will be the last opportunity to ask the Commission to request Member States more support to organic in countries where there is a lack of measures or budget targeted to the sector. Indeed, after the release of these observation letters, Member States will have to integrate the recommendations and submit their final CAP Strategic Plan.

The Commission has to approve CAP national Strategic Plans by 31 December 2022, but the sooner they do this the better. Farmers need to plan their investments for the coming years, and can do this based on the CAP support they will receive.

For more information on the CAP and IFOAM Organics Europe’s work on this issue, please contact [email protected]. IFOAM Organics Europe members can find more information on the member extranet and background materials in the arguments database on the member extranet (main messages, arguments/FAQs, visuals & videos).

Are you an IFOAM Organics Europe member and you do not have access to our member extranet? Or did you encounter issues logging in? Contact [email protected].

For information about what you can gain from being a member, read our membership page and contact [email protected].