Communication from the Commission on Simplification and Better Regulation for the Common Agricultural Policy
Date: 2005-10-19
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: common agricultural policy, drafting of EU law, reform of the CAP, simplification of legislation

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 19.10.2005 
COM(2005) 509 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 

on Simplification and Better Regulation  
for the Common Agricultural Policy 

EN 

   EN 

 
 
 
  
A. 

INTRODUCTION 

This  communication  outlines  the  Commission’s  plans  for  simplifying  the  Common 
Agricultural  Policy  (CAP)  whilst  respecting  economic,  environmental  and  political  realities. 
Reducing red tape in the farm sector by making rules more transparent, easier to understand 
and less burdensome will reduce costs for businesses and ensure that European citizens receive 
value for money. 

Since its introduction the CAP has established a comprehensive political and legal framework 
for European agriculture; as a fully integrated common policy it replaces a significant amount 
of  national  legislation.  It  has  largely  accomplished  the  objectives  set  out  in  the  EC  Treaty 
while  cushioning  the  social  impact  of  agricultural  restructuring.  As  a  corollary  farmers  and 
administrations have to deal with a dense set of rules and measures, which may increase the 
risk of failing to meet policy objectives, make it more difficult to ensure sound expenditure of 
EU funds and diminish acceptance of CAP measures. 

The  CAP  simplification  work  undertaken  by  the  Commission  for  over  a  decade  is  now 
entering  a  new  phase.  Building  on  the  framework  action  to  “Update  and  simplify  the 
Community  acquis”1,  and  following  its  communication  “Working  together  for  growth  and 
jobs  –  a  new  start  for  the  Lisbon  Strategy”2,  the  Commission  adopted  in  March  2005  a 
communication  on  “Better  Regulation  for  growth  and  jobs”3,  which  underlined  the 
contribution of better regulation to achieving the Lisbon objectives.  

At  the  December  2004  Agriculture  Council,  the  Commissioner  for  Agriculture  and  Rural 
Development  announced  her  intention  to  bring  forward  the  present  communication.  It  forms 
part  of  the  CAP’s  contribution  to  realising  the  EU’s  Lisbon  strategy  and  the  Commission’s 
overall governance concept. 

B. 

THE PURPOSE OF SIMPLIFICATION 

Simplification  aims  to  identify  and  remove  unnecessary  burdens;  two  types  may  be 
distinguished: 

• 

• 

technical simplification (i.e. within a constant policy framework) implies revision of 
the  legal  framework,  administrative  procedures  and  management  mechanisms  to 
achieve  streamlining  and  greater  cost-effectiveness  and  attain  existing  policy 
objectives more effectively, without changing the underlying policies; 

‘policy  simplification’  reduces  complexity  through  improvements  to  the  agricultural 
support  and  rural  development  policy  instruments.  It  may  be  described  as  ‘policy 
development with simplification implications’. Impact assessment has a particular role 
to play here. 

To avoid policy debates arising in the context of simplification, it is important to ensure that 
this distinction is not obscured. Simplification must not become an additional forum to reopen 
policy decisions.  

1 
2 
3 

COM(2003) 71. 
COM(2005) 24. 
COM(2005) 97. 

EN 

2 

   EN 

 
                                                 
This communication focuses primarily on opportunities for technical simplification, although 
some  actions  such  as  rationalising  or  harmonising  market  management  mechanisms  may 
become political issues. 

C. 

LIMITATIONS 

Simplifying the CAP is an ambitious project which needs to be pursued with political resolve 
and  a  strong  sense  of  realism.  Agricultural  and  rural  development  policies  are  by  nature 
complex, reflecting both internal and external policy objectives outlined in the EC Treaty. 

Simplification must be compatible with broad policy objectives such as the environment, food 
safety, cohesion and protection of the Community’s financial interests.  

Sound  policy  management  is  necessary.  The  CAP  is  unique  in  the  extent  to  which  it  is 
regulated and financed at EU level. Without a common approach to the single market, aids in 
agriculture and trade with third countries, it would be impossible to guarantee a level playing 
field in the internal market and pursue further liberalisation in world trade. An EU framework 
ensures that rural development programs are carried out under common rules without creating 
unfair  competitive  advantages.  Basic  standards  in  the  field  of  environment,  animal  welfare, 
organic farming and labelling need to be settled on a common basis, if they are to be seen as 
fair.  This  requires  robust  legislation,  and  effective  financing  and  control  mechanisms  to 
protect public interest and ensure accountability.  

Policies  must  be  applied  in  a  diverse  range  of  agricultural  conditions  and  administrative 
traditions across the enlarged EU. 

Political  consensus  on  large  and  complex  policies  requires  balance  between  administrative 
simplicity  and  the  flexibility  to  reflect  local  needs,  to  take  into  account  the  principles  of 
proportionality and subsidiarity, and accountability to other Community Institutions. 

Control burdens are often cited as a profitable area for simplification. However, over the last 
15 years modern, effective and proportionate control arrangements have been put in place; the 
Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS) has kept the administrative burden for 
farmers at a manageable level while ensuring a high degree of financial security and protection 
of taxpayers’ money.  

Although simplification must not be used as an argument to weaken these arrangements, the 
Commission is ready in appropriate cases to consider more streamlined procedures provided 
that they do not reduce the degree of financial assurance.  

D. 

STOCKTAKING 

CAP simplification is not a new activity; the Commission has carried out various actions since 
the mid-1990s. 

Successive CAP reforms have provided opportunities to simplify, most recently by combining 
a  large  number  of  direct  income  support  payments  into  a  comprehensive  decoupled  single 
payment scheme. 

EN 

3 

   EN 

 
The  Commission  has  drawn  attention  to  its  CAP  simplification  activities  through  reports  to 
Parliament  and  Council,  and  stressed  in  them  its  determination  to  strive  for  further 
simplification4. 

It  has  worked  closely  with  national  authorities  to  identify  simplification  possibilities.  In  a 
systematic analysis carried out in 1997–2000, around 200 suggestions were received from the 
Paying Agencies; the Commission was able to take positive action on about half of them. The 
remainder were not acted upon because they would have entailed excessive costs, undermined 
sound financial management, or were not judged to offer real simplification potential. 

This  exercise  was  repeated  in  2001–2003.  Member  States’  suggestions  were  analysed  by  a 
simplification group established by the Commission, composed of representatives of national 
administrations. This exercise became absorbed into discussions on the 2003 Reform and did 
not give rise to publication of a separate report. 

I 

Horizontal actions 

(a) 

Cleaning up of agricultural rules 

The  Commission  attaches  great  importance  to  public  access  to  Community  law  and  to 
improving its clarity and transparency. It has sought to reduce the number of agricultural acts 
in  force  and  improve  the  presentation  of  legal  texts,  especially  those  modified  on  several 
occasions. 

It has for many years screened the ‘acquis’ to identify obsolete agricultural legislation, a task 
supported by the two-year programme on “Updating and simplifying the Community acquis”5. 
In 2003 and 2004, as part of the ongoing simplification activities, around 520 agricultural legal 
acts  have  been  removed  from  the  list  of  acts  in  force  by  formal  repeal  and  recognition  of 
obsolescence.  

Access  to  agricultural  legislation  has  benefited  from  improvements  in  IT  tools.  All 
Community legislation is now freely available via the EUR-Lex website6. Consolidation and 
codification7 of legal texts both make the acquis more accessible and improve legal certainty. 
Most  agricultural  legal  acts  available  online  are  in  their  consolidated  version  and  a  limited 
number have been formally adopted in codified form. 

(b) 

State aid rules 

Since 1999 state aid rules for agriculture have been simplified and made more transparent. 

A  single  legal  basis  for  the  application  of  state  aid  rules  to  rural  development8  was  created. 
Most  state  aid  rules  were  incorporated  into  the  “Community  guidelines  for  state  aid  in  the 
agriculture sector”9, allowing abolition of several texts10. For the first time, all rules for state 

4 
5 
6 
7 

8 
9 
10 

COM(1999) 156; COM(2001) 48. 
COM(2003) 71. 
http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/lex/en/repert/index_03.htm. 
Consolidation produces updated but not legally binding texts; codification creates new legally-binding 
texts. 
Article 51 of Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 (OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 80). 
OJ C 232, 12.8.2000, p. 19. 
See point 22 of the guidelines. 

EN 

4 

   EN 

 
                                                 
aid  in  agriculture  were  published  in  the  Official  Journal.  Transparency  has  been  further 
improved by making documents available on the internet11. 

Rules  for  state  aid  for  advertising  of  agricultural  products  were  streamlined  in  200112, 
allowing for the abolition of two texts13. 

Rules for rescue and restructuring aid were simplified and improved in 200414. 

The need for Commission authorisation before granting new state aid was reduced by a wide-
ranging  exemption  Regulation15.  From  2004  about  30%  of  all  new  state  aid  could  be  paid 
within  10  days  of  informing  the  Commission,  compared  with  previous  delays  of  up  to  six 
months. 

A new format for yearly reports has simplified reporting requirements from 200416. 

A  Regulation  on  de  minimis  aid17  entered  into  force  on  1  January  2005,  providing  greater 
leeway for Member States to grant quick support notably in the face of crisis. 

(c) 

Reporting 

An internal study of the justification for Member States’ reporting obligations led to informal 
guidelines and a reduction of the number and frequency of reports, improved use of IT tools 
including  web  technology  that  automatically  checks  data  integrity,  standardisation  of  forms 
and  some  restructuring  of  legal  acts.  This  has  become  an  ongoing  process,  independently  of 
the initial study.  

Certain acts on irregularities in the areas of CAP expenditure and structural funds18 are being 
or will be reviewed with the aim to reduce the administrative burden for Member States. 

II 

Policy-related actions 

The Commission has considered it appropriate to integrate simplification into its agricultural 
policy  work  rather  than  set  up  a  separate  policy  simplification  programme.  Integration  of 
simplification into the normal agenda will be more visible from 2005 - as part of an improved 
planning  methodology,  the  simplification  aspects  and  intended  beneficiaries  of  all  proposed 
measures are identified.  

(a) 

2003 CAP Reform 

The 2003 reform has brought radical change to the CAP, especially its income support policy. 
It  established  the  single  payment  scheme  where  direct  income  support  for  farmers  is  largely 
decoupled  from  production  and  introduced  mandatory  cross-compliance  obligations.  It  has 
also established comprehensive common rules for direct support in most sectors. 

11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 

http://europa.eu.int/agriculture/state aid. 
OJ C 252, 12.9.2001, p. 5. 
See para. 75 of the advertising guidelines. 
OJ C 244, 1.10.2004, p. 2. 
Commission Regulation (EC) No 1/2004 (OJ L1, 3.1.2004, p. 1). 
Annex III B of Commission Regulation (EC) No 794/2004 (OJ L 140, 30.4.2004, p. 1). 
Commission Regulation (EC) No 1860/2004 (OJ L 325, 28.10.2004, p. 4). 
Council Regulation (EEC) No 595/91 (OJ L 67, 14.3.1991, p. 11); Council Regulation (EC) No 1469/95 
(OJ L 145, 29.6.1995, p. 1); Commission Regulation (EC) No 1681/94 (OJ L 178, 12.7.1994, p. 43). 

EN 

5 

   EN 

 
                                                 
This  reform  is  an  important  step  towards  better  quality  of  EU  legislation  –  9  Council 
regulations and numerous other provisions were repealed; the basic regulations of the cereals, 
rice  and  dried  fodder  common  market  organisations  (CMOs)  and  the  milk  quota  regulation 
were  recast.  Procedural  simplification  has  been  achieved  through  the  setting  up  of  a  single 
management committee for all direct payments.  

The  Commission  originally  proposed  a  single  decoupling  model,  two  types  of  payment 
entitlements  decoupled  from  production,  no  re-coupling  and  no  transitional  periods  or 
derogations.  During  the  legislative  process  numerous  alternative  options  and  special 
arrangements were requested by Member States and accepted by the Council. Member States 
may  now  chose  between  2  decoupling  models  with  a  number  of  sub-models,  apply  partial 
de-coupling  or  exclude  certain  support  schemes  from  decoupling,  implement  a  separate 
support system and make use of various derogations. 

Nevertheless, the reform’s potential for simplification of the way agricultural income support 
is granted, managed and controlled, is still significant. In its fully decoupled version farmers 
need  to  introduce  only  one  aid  application  and  controls  are  applied  using  a  whole-farm 
approach. 

Whether  this  potential  simplification  for  farmers  is  realised  depends  on  Member  States’ 
choices. There is already evidence to suggest that the decoupled system will be much simpler 
to manage once the necessary IT systems have become fully operational. 

Many  Member  States  have  chosen  to  make  use  of  the  full  range  of  options  provided  by  the 
flexibility introduced into this regime. This heterogeneous implementation of the reform has 
contributed to complication and increasing burdens on farmers and administrations. 

(b) 

Single Area Payment Scheme (SAPS)19 for new Member States 

On the initiative of the Commission it was agreed in the enlargement negotiations that for a 
maximum  of  5  years  from  accession  the  new  Member  States  may  grant  simplified  direct 
income  support.  SAPS  allows  the  granting  of  a  flat  rate  per  hectare  of  agricultural  area, 
calculated  by  dividing  the  total  available  income  support  by  the  overall  number  of  hectares 
used  for  agricultural  production.  Under  IACS  only  area-related  checks  are  required  and 
complex  controls  on  animal  premiums  become  obsolete.  This  system  reduced  the  cost  of 
preparatory  work  before  and  during  accession.  It  will  allow  the  eight  new  Member  States 
concerned to switch smoothly to the single payment scheme.  

(c) 

Rural development 

The new Council Regulation on rural development support for 2007 to 2013 will simplify the 
content, scope and implementation of the policy. 

The  strategic  approach  (Community  Strategic  Guidelines  –  national  strategy  plans  – 
programmes) will allow the setting of clear priorities and streamlining of programming, while 
defining the scope of the policy through building up programmes around four axes. Each axis 
in  turn  can  be  built  up  from  a  range  of  predefined  measures.  To  ensure  programme  balance 
minimum spending rates will apply to each axis.  

Simplification  will  consist  of  moving  from  two  funding  sources,  five  programming  systems 
and  three  management  and  control  systems  to  a  single  funding,  programming,  financial 

19 

See Article 143b of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003. 

EN 

6 

   EN 

 
                                                 
management  and  control  framework.  There  will  be  a  single  fund  (EARDF)  with  financial 
management  and  control  rules  adapted  to  multi-annual  programming.  Operational  and 
financial  programme  management  will  be  simplified  by  setting  the  co-financing  rate  at  axis 
level,  leaving  Member  States  free  to  shift  between  measures  within  an  axis.  For  individual 
measures the number of eligibility conditions has been reduced. 

The organisational structure has been kept simple: each programme will have one managing 
authority  (operational  implementation)  and  paying  agency  (financial  implementation),  with 
clearly defined functions and accountability. 

A simple reporting system based on a common framework for monitoring and evaluation will 
allow progress in implementation of strategies and programmes to be measured. 

(d) 

CAP financing 

The adoption of a new Council Regulation (EC) No 1290/200520 brings the financing rules for 
both pillars of the CAP into a single legal text. It creates two funds (EAGF and the EAFRD) 
that,  as  far  as  possible,  will  apply  the  same  rules  on,  for  example,  the  role  of  the  paying 
agencies  and  the  clearance  of  accounts  procedure;  it  will  also  facilitate  the  treatment  of 
irregularity  cases.  The  new  rules  will  simplify  financial  management  of  rural  development 
policy in the next programming period.  

The Commission implementing regulation currently in preparation aims to regroup more than 
twelve separate regulations containing all measures relating to paying agencies, financial and 
budgetary discipline, and the transmission and archiving of documents. This regulation may, if 
appropriate, also contain control and Member States’ mutual assistance measures. 

E. 

IMPACT ASSESSMENT 

The Commission has long experience in the use of impact assessments in agricultural and rural 
development policy making. For several years all important agricultural proposals have been 
accompanied  by  an  impact  assessment.  Building  on  this  approach,  in  2002,  the  Commission 
replaced  single  sector  impact  assessment  methods  with  an  integrated  and  cross-sectoral 
approach21 with five key steps22: 

•  analysis of the problems, 

•  establishment of the objectives, 

• 

identification of options, 

•  analysis of their impact, 

•  comparison of their advantages and disadvantages. 

The  principle  of  ‘proportionate  analysis’  is  central  to  the  Commission’s  impact  assessment 
work, meaning that the IA is proportionate to the potential impacts of the action. 

These  processes  represent  an  ideal  opportunity  to  consult  stakeholders  in  line  with  the 
Commission’s  minimum  standards  for  consultation23.  Their  contribution  is  essential  in 

20 
21 
22 
23 

OJ L209, 11.8.2005, p. 1. 
COM(2002) 276. 
SEC(2005) 791. 
COM(2002) 704. 

EN 

7 

   EN 

 
                                                 
ensuring  the  quality  of  the  assessment  and  the  appropriateness  of  any  final  proposals. 
Consultation  methods  have  recently  become  more  diversified,  including  various  ad  hoc  fora 
and hearings.  

In line with the Commission’s approach to impact assessment, it is essential that the scope of 
impact  assessments  is  broad  and  that  it  includes  environmental,  economic,  consumer 
protection,  competition,  and  social  policy  concerns.  This  interdisciplinary  approach  better 
reflects the diversity of the real world.  

F. 

I 

THE WAY FORWARD 

Technical simplification 

(a) 

Cleaning up agricultural rules 

Identification and elimination of obsolete Council and Commission legal acts will continue.  

The  Commission  will  explore  new  ways  to  improve  the  structure  and  presentation  of 
agricultural law. It will examine the possibility of carrying out a “legal audit” with a view to 
eliminating  unnecessary  provisions,  replacing  multiple  sectoral  rules  by  horizontal  ones  and 
examining the use of sunset clauses where appropriate. 

This  will  provide  new  opportunities  to  simplify  management  mechanisms  relating  to  certain 
specific  import  and  export  procedures,  private  storage,  public  storage,  tendering  procedures, 
financial  instruments  and  processes,  reporting  obligations  etc.  Some  work  relating  to  the 
traditional CMOs is already under way. The proposed single CMO (see b) below) will further 
advance this work in the context of an overall re-evaluation of market mechanisms. 

(b) 

A Single CMO regulation 

The  2003  reform  simplified  the  CAP’s  legislative  environment  by  establishing  a  horizontal 
legal framework for all direct payments and amalgamating an array of support systems into a 
single payment scheme. 

It is envisaged to extend the horizontal approach to the 21 CMOs, each of which is governed 
by  a  separate  Council  basic  regulation,  often  accompanied  by  a  collateral  set  of  further 
Council rules. 

Most basic regulations follow the same structure and have numerous provisions in common. 
Often  they  contain  different  solutions  to  identical  or  similar  problems.  The  extent  to  which 
harmonisation is possible and sectoral approaches can be replaced by horizontal ones should 
be examined.  

This will provide a single set of harmonised rules in the classic areas of market policy such as 
intervention,  private  storage,  import  tariff  quotas,  export  refunds,  safeguard  measures, 
promotion of agricultural products, state aid rules, communications and reporting of data. 

Existing  instruments  and  mechanisms  will  not  be  changed  in  substance  except  where  this  is 
justified  by  the  advantages  of  harmonisation  and  does  not  substantially  alter  their 
effectiveness.  

Questioning  the  “raison  d’être”  of  provisions  that  in  some  cases  have  existed  for  decades  is 
inherent to the Commission’s task of establishing a better legislative environment.  

EN 

8 

   EN 

 
The outcome should be a simpler and more streamlined legislative structure of the first pillar 
of the CAP. 

A step by step approach will be used: 

• 

• 

initially,  a  first  Commission  proposal  would  include  those  provisions  that  most 
basic regulations have in common and the rules of CMOs that will not be subject to 
substantive policy reviews in the foreseeable future; 

later, the single CMO regulation could be completed by regulations not included in 
the first phase of the exercise (e.g. fruit and vegetables, wine).  

This would be in line with the approach pursued for Council Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 
on direct payments. 

The Commission will examine the possibility of making a first single CMO proposal in 2006. 

(c) 

Administrative costs 

The Commission is prepared in the context of the current initiative to test the feasibility of an 
‘EU net administrative cost method’ to discuss options for assisting national administrations to 
quantify and reduce administrative costs imposed on farmers by CAP mechanisms.  

(d) 

State aids 

An  extension  of  exemption  Regulation  (EC)  No 1/2004  will  accelerate  the  payment  of  state 
aid to farmers. 

State  aid  rules  will  be  simplified  by  reducing  the  seven  texts  still  in  force  to  three:  the 
exemption regulation, one set of guidelines, and the de minimis regulation. 

On 30 May 2005, Member States were invited to submit state aid simplification proposals. 

(e) 

Sharing best practices 

The  establishment  of  a  network  of  EU  agricultural  experts  to  share  best  practice  in  the 
implementation of CAP legislation will be examined. Existing structures such as the bi-annual 
conference of Paying Agencies, “Panta Rhei” and the Management and Advisory Committees 
should be used. 

II 

Policy related actions 

(a) 

Sugar CMO reform 

The  Commission  proposal  for  reform  of  the  sugar  sector24  offers  a  significant  number  of 
simplifications:  

• 

introduction of a single quota system; 

•  variable production levies linked to quotas replaced by fixed charges not dependent on 

complicated calculations based on excess consumption; 

• 

intervention replaced by private storage; 

24 

COM(2005) 263. 

EN 

9 

   EN 

 
                                                 
• 

the rules on trade with third countries simplified by abolishing the export of non-quota 
sugar and simplifying import management; 

• 

inclusion of direct income support in the sugar sector in the Single Payment Scheme. 

(b) 

Single Payment Scheme 

Simplification  of  the  recent  CAP  reform  arrangements  and  their  implementation  will  be 
examined as foreseen in the review clauses in Council Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003. 

(c) 

Other sectors 

Simplification will play an important role in the various scheduled policy reviews, including 
the  CMO  for  wine,  organic  farming  and  quality  policy.  Simplification  of  the  fresh  and 
processed fruit and vegetables sectors, in the context of the reform currently in progress, will 
include an examination of technical standards and their relationship with existing international 
standards. 

The  regulations25  relating  to  egg  marketing  standards  should  be  replaced  by  simplified  and 
streamlined  provisions,  and 
the  Commission 
technical  elements 
implementing regulation.  

transferred 

the 

to 

(d) 

Impact assessment and evaluation 

As  set  out  in  the  new  Guidelines26,  ‘proportionate  analysis’  is  central  to  the  Commission’s 
approach to impact assessment. In agriculture, where numerous minor measures are proposed, 
this is of particular importance. 

Simplification  will  be  integrated  into  the  well  established  practice  of  evaluation  of  CAP 
measures, in particular the ex-ante evaluation which is carried out for all proposals.  

III 

Processes 

CAP  simplification  needs  to  be  embedded  in  a  process  of  awareness  raising,  dialogue  and 
planning. 

(a) 

Stakeholder consultation, screening, Action Plan 

Simplification  suggestions  made  by  Member  States  and  stakeholders  during  the  present 
consultation process, which are appropriate and accompanied by adequate justifications, will 
be  taken  into  consideration  in  the  development  of  a  CAP  action  plan  to  be  drawn  up  at 
Commission services level during 2006.  

Although  stakeholder  consultation  takes  place  primarily  within  the  impact  assessment 
processes,  the  Commission  reaffirms  its  willingness  to  consider  all  valid  simplification 
suggestions submitted by agriculture sector stakeholders.  

In addition to examining sectors highlighted by Member States and stakeholders, the options 
for  screening  for  further  simplification  potential  will  be  examined.  The  recently  modified 
structure of the Commission’s Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development and 

25 
26 

Council Regulation (EEC) No 1907/90; Commission Regulation (EC) No 2295/2003. 
SEC(2005) 791. 

EN 

10 

   EN 

 
                                                 
the  planned  establishment  of  an  inventory  of  management  mechanisms  will  facilitate  this 
work. 

This  action  plan  will  also  take  into  consideration  the  outcome  of  discussions  on  the  present 
communication. It will indicate the concrete measures envisaged, and be discussed within the 
Commission’s CAP simplification experts group. 

(b) 

Conference 

A  simplification  conference  is  planned  for  2006,  focussing  on  the  views  and  needs  of 
stakeholders,  in  particular  Member  States  and  representatives  of  farming  organisations.  The 
conference  should  also  increase  the  sense  of  ownership  and  responsibility  for  simplification 
amongst  all  actors  involved,  including  Member  States.  The  new  Member  States  should  be 
invited  to  contribute  from  their  experience  with  the  introduction  and  implementation  of  the 
CAP upon accession. 

(c) 

Training 

Internal  training  and  awareness  raising  form  an  important  part  of  the  ongoing  work,  in 
conjunction  with  the  screening  process.  It  will  include  staff  training  in  legal  drafting,  and 
seminars on the purposes and objectives of simplification. 

(d) 

IT systems 

The  use  of  IT  tools  is  essential  in  the  development  of  mechanisms  ensuring  reliable,  timely 
and  transparent  data  collection  and  reporting  for  the  benefit  of  Member  States  and  the 
Commission (e.g. the CIRCA system for document distribution and AMIS-Quota which is a 
new  system  in  development  for  tariff  quota  management).  IT  tools  also  help  to  provide 
appropriate  electronic  means  for  enhancing  information  communication  with  national 
authorities. 

G. 

CONCLUSION 

This  communication  is  one  step  in  an  ongoing  process  to  ensure  that  Better  Regulation,  in 
particular simplification, remains central to agricultural policy and law making.  

The active co-operation of all EU Institutions involved is essential. All actors should be aware 
that it is crucial to strike a balance between defending specific interests and avoiding excessive 
complexity, in particular where difficult political compromises need to be negotiated. 

The  Commission  will  continue  to  play  an  active part  in  this  process,  but  cannot  achieve  the 
objectives  of  simplification  alone.  It  invites  Member  States  and  the  other  EU  Institutions  to 
accept responsibility for reducing burdens for farmers and avoiding their creation. 

EN 

11 

   EN