How has The CAP’s Green Architecture Changed Around Europe?

How has The CAP’s Green Architecture Changed Around Europe?

The text is an abridged version of an article published on the ARC2020 information website. It reflects changes in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), in particular for two of the ‘good agricultural and environmental conditionalities’ (GAECs) – one on peatland and wetlands (GAEC 2) and on space for nature (GAEC 8). The article is a collaborative work and includes observations from across Europe – Poland, Ireland, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, France, Italy and Spain.

This latest round of  the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) was promised to be the greenest yet, with a number of core economic, social and environmental objectives, including a focus on climate change, environmental care and landscapes. A number of mandatory rules were introduced to ensure a more sustainable transition – the so-called “Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions” (GAEC). But after widespread protests by farmers across the EU, in March 2024 the European Commission proposed a regulation amending the CAP. One of the main changes was to change the GAECs from mandatory to voluntary. Another includes dropping the requirement to set aside at least 4% of arable land at farm level for non-productive areas or landscape features, including land lying fallow. The idea is that these changes will apply for one year, but could be extended.

The CAP amendment regulation was proposed and adopted quickly and without the necessary discussions. There was no formal public consultation or anything resembling an impact assessment. This is precisely why the EU Ombudsman opened a formal inquiry into this extraordinary behaviour by the Commission.

What is the impact of these changes so far?

National coalitions from several Member States gave their assessment of the changes in the GAECs, specifically for two of the most important ones – GAEC 2 and GAEC 8.

GAEC 2: Protection of wetland and peatland. 

GAEC 2 aims to protect carbon-rich (sometimes called organic) soils.  This is because large quantities of carbon are stored in peatlands and wetlands, while certain agricultural practices such as ploughing can have a negative impact on such soils regarding their carbon storage. A 2021 European Court of Auditors report on the CAP and climate states that 20% of EU-27 agricultural emissions come from 2% of drained organic soils.

In the new amendments, the implementation of this requirement has been postponed, which indicates a lack of political will to address this problem. Poland and Ireland have significant areas of peatlands. Both countries have reservations about progress on this environmental condition. There are problems elsewhere as well. For France, GAEC 2 is also not applied, but it is assumed that its implementation will begin. In the Czech Republic and Bulgaria, the GAEC 2 standard is planned to be applied from 2025.

GAEC 8 Non-productive areas and landscape features

The 2024 Simplification Regulation removed the GAEC 8 obligation to dedicate a share of arable land to non-productive areas and features, although the requirement to maintain landscape features during bird breeding and rearing season remained. 

In Poland the obligation to allocate 4% of arable land to non-productive areas was abolished from 2024. Instead, an eco-scheme has been introduced, encouraging the exclusion of arable land from production provided that no pesticides are used. Similarly, in Italy, the 4% non-productive area requirement has been removed, and the  eco-scheme that has been created to compensate for this is very weak and unattractive. Bulgaria, Spain and the Czech Republic also remove the requirement for non-productive areas under GAEC 8.

Impact of other changes – small farm exemptions and weak eco-schemes

Polish NGOs are also worried about the exemption from inspections for small farms of the implementation of GAECs. Justyna Zwolińska of the Living Earth Coalition says that “they have the intervention to support small farms, but it seems that money may be spent in the wrong way, and future consequences of small farms having to return money.” She adds: “this can heavily impact the future survival of small farms, which means the land may be lost to industrial farms”.

Martin Reksa from the Czech coalition Hnutí DUHA expresses his concern that tens of thousands of hectares of fallow land will disappear. The already agreed and improved GAEC 5 (on preventing soil erosion) “is due to enter into force in July 2025 – after a year and a half of delay. It is still unclear what the result will be – whether and how the new rules will be implemented at all, and whether they will make anti-erosion protection stronger or weaker,” he adds.

Conclusion

The news that some Ministers are pushing to  drop GAEC 2 altogether because the Nature Restoration Law (NRL) will come into force soon is yet another indicator of the direction of travel for agri-environmental action. Although GAEC 2 and the wetland restoration requirements under Article 11 of the Regulation are in theory complementary, they are very different in scope and ambition. The Regulation requires Member States to manage a proportion of cultivated peatlands in a nature-friendly manner, while GAEC 2 provides for baseline conditions that ensure the protection of all organic soils at national level.

The feedback from a number of NGOs and national coalitions is that the move to change the conditions from mandatory to voluntary stems from weak motivation for their implementation, especially when it comes to GAEC 2, which is postponed year after year.

National coalitions have also expressed concern about delaying controls on small farms.

Without swift action in response to these changes, we risk further undermining the legitimacy of the CAP and its failure to address biodiversity loss and climate mitigation, leaving the EU's goals as mere intentions.