Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Regulations (EU) 2021/2115 and (EU) 2021/2116 as regards good agricultural and environmental condition standards, schemes for climate, environment and animal welfare, amendments to CAP Strategic Plans, review of CAP Strategic Plans and exemptions from controls and penalties
Date: 2024-03-15
Institutions: Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission
Subjects: EAFRD, EAGF, EU strategy, adaptation to climate change, administrative formalities, aid to agriculture, common agricultural policy, farming sector, sanction (EU), sustainable agriculture, utilised agricultural area

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 15.3.2024  COM(2024) 139 final 2024/0073 (COD)  Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Regulations (EU) 2021/2115 and (EU) 2021/2116 as regards good agricultural and environmental condition standards, schemes for climate, environment and animal welfare, amendments to CAP Strategic Plans, review of CAP Strategic Plans and exemptions from controls and penalties  
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

• 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

Reasons for and objectives of the proposal  

Through Strategic Plans under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the European Union 
aims to foster a smart, competitive, resilient and diversified agricultural sector ensuring long-
term  food  security.  It  also  aims  at  the  same  time,  to  support  and  strengthen  environmental 
protection,  including  biodiversity,  and  climate  action,  and  to  contribute  to  achieving  the 
environmental and climate-related objectives of the Union, including commitments under the 
Paris Agreement, as well as to strengthen the socio-economic fabric of rural areas.   

28  CAP  Strategic  Plans  (CSP)  were  developed  by  the  Member  States  and  approved  by  the 
Commission  and  first  applied  in  2023,  delivering  direct  income  support  to  farmers,  support 
for  environmental  schemes,  as  well  as  support  for  e.g.  investments,  certain  agricultural 
sectors, rural development, and knowledge and innovation. The Strategic Plans provide both a 
considerable  increase  in  subsidiarity  in  management  of  the  CAP  and  a  performance 
orientation.  Expenditure  must  contribute 
to  delivering  on  10  specific  economic, 
environmental and social objectives of the CAP, measured by a series of common indicators.   

These  Strategic  Plans  contribute  to  the  Commission’s  ambitious  Green  Deal  agenda,  in 
combination  with  regulatory  initiatives,  research  investments  and  other  actions  to  meet  the 
Union’s  environmental  and  2050  climate  objectives.  In  this  light,  the  CAP  Strategic  Plan 
Regulation  (Regulation  (EU)  2021/2115)  introduced  higher  baseline  conditions  for  farm 
support,  and  collectively  the  28  Strategic  Plans  allocate  substantially  higher  amounts  of 
support to farmers for environmental and climate objectives compared to the previous CAP.  

Overall, the new approach works well. However, the first year of implementation of the CAP 
Strategic  Plan  has  made  clear  that  adjustments  are  necessary  to  ensure  effective 
implementation  of  the  plans  and  cut  red-tape.  Moreover,  the  implementation  of  the  plans 
should  not  be  seen  in  isolation  from  discussions  on  other  Green  Deal  legislative  proposals, 
which will or may affect both, farmers directly and the requirements in the Strategic Plans. In 
addition, the CAP Strategic Plan Regulation was agreed before the start of the large-scale war 
of  aggression  of  Russia  in  Ukraine,  which  continues  to  strongly  influence  markets  (and 
farmers’ margins), as well as Europe’s agricultural policy context.  

While  the  reasons  for  the  widespread  protests  of  farmers  across  the  Member  States  of  the 
Union  are  complex  and  diverse,  the  above-mentioned  reasons  are  an  important  part  of  the 
context.   

The European Council of 1 February 2024 discussed the challenges in the agricultural sector 
including the concerns raised by the farmers during the protests. Stressing the essential role of 
the  CAP,  it  called  on  the  Council  and  the  Commission  to  take  work  forward  as  necessary. 
This  requires  a  spirit  of  cooperation  among  the  European  Commission,  the  other  EU 
institutions, Member States and the farmers. Commission President Von der Leyen committed 
to launch a thorough analysis of the administrative burden weighting on farmers’ shoulders to 
identify  areas  for  improvement.  Among  others,  based  also  on  the  input  received  from  the 
Member States collected by the Council Presidency, and from EU farmers’ organisations and 
the European Parliament, the Commission came forward with a non-paper on possible actions 
for simplification on 22 February 2024 as an input to Council discussions. 

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The  Agriculture  and  Fisheries  Council  of  26  February  2024  confirmed  its  political  will  to 
respond  effectively  to  the  concerns  of  farmers  and,  as  a  first  step,  supported  a  range  of 
measures included in the aforementioned Commission non-paper as priority for the short-term 
response to the current crisis. It also insisted that a review of the basic acts of the Common 
Agricultural Policy is necessary and should be initiated as soon as possible. The Commission 
also carefully listened to the views expressed in the meeting on 26 February of the Committee 
on  Agriculture  and  Rural  Development  of  the  European  Parliament  during  the  exchange  of 
views on the proposed simplification package for farmers and national administrations. 

Objective of the proposal  

With  these  proposals,  the  Commission  aims  for  well-targeted  adjustments  of  the  CAP 
Strategic Plans Regulations to  address  certain  difficulties in  their  implementation. With  this 
targeted  approach,  the  Commission  provides  a  very  significant  response  to  the  problems 
identified and the concerns raised, while it aims to maintain and defend the overall orientation 
of  the  current  CAP  and  its  role  in  supporting  the  transition  of  European  agriculture  to 
sustainable farming. The Commission believes that these targeted amendments will facilitate 
a quick adoption by the European Parliament and the Council. 

flexibilities 

that  allow  national  administrations 

The  adjustments  focus  on  changes  that  are  beneficial  for  farmers  in  reducing  their 
to  adapt 
administrative  burden, 
implementation to address farmers’ situations, changes to the balance between conditionality 
requirements and voluntary schemes which incentivise green practices, as well as reassuring 
beneficiaries  as regards the stability  of the policy during the lifetime of the Strategic Plans. 
For  instance,  the  adjustments  with  regard  to  conditionality  will  give  Member  States  more 
flexibility in establishing GAEC standards at national level, hence simplifying the burden on 
farmers,  e.g.  providing  for  more  options  for  how  to  fulfil  the  requirements  or  allowing 
specific  well  targeted  exemptions  or  derogations,  in  particular  in  case  of  adverse  weather 
conditions.  The  administrative  burden  of  smaller  farmers  (up  to  10  hectares  of  agricultural 
areas, i.e. 65% of farmers) will be eased by exempting them from control visits to check the 
respect of the conditionality requirements.  At the same time, the fact that smaller farmers will 
be  exempted  from  penalties  will  also  simplify  Member  States’  administrative  work,  as 
national authorities will not have to calculate penalties which may fall under the applicable de 
minimis threshold.     

As  regards  the  proposal  to  increase  the  number  of  CSP  amendments  this  should  allow 
Member  States  to  adapt  their  CAP  strategic  plans  when  it  is  necessary  to  take  into  account 
changing conditions for farmers. In this way requirements that are no longer justified would 
not remain in place, purely for administrative reasons, making the system simpler. 

Member States are responsible for making full use of the simplification provisions to reduce 
farmers’ administrative burden. 

• 

Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area 

The proposed amendments are consistent with the general philosophy of the CAP basic acts 
currently  in  force  (Strategic  Plan  Regulation  and  the  Regulation  on  the  Financing, 
management and monitoring of the CAP). Therefore, the proposal is consistent with existing 
policy provisions. 

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• 

Consistency with other Union policies  

The legal proposal adjusts a limited number of provisions of the CAP regulations currently in 
force,  which  were  deemed  consistent  with  other  Union  policies.  The  proposal  is  therefore 
consistent with other Union policies. 

2. 

• 

LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY 

Legal basis 

Article 43(2) TFEU since the Regulation amends Regulations (EU) 2021/2115 and 2021/2116 
which are mainly based on this legal basis. 

• 

Subsidiarity (for non-exclusive competence)  

The  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union  provides  that  the  competence  for 
agriculture  is  shared  between  the  Union  and  the  Member  States.  The  Union  exercises  its 
competence  through  the  adoption  of  various  legislative  acts,  thereby  defining  and 
implementing  an  EU  CAP  as  provided  for  in  Article  38  to  44  TFEU.  Regulations  (EU) 
2021/2115 and 2021/2116 are part of the legislative framework of the EU CAP.  In order to 
alleviate  certain  difficulties,  provide  simplification  and  to  take  off  burdens  from  farmers, 
these Regulations need to be amended, which can only be done at EU level.  

• 

Proportionality 

The proposal modifies the existing Regulations only to the extent strictly necessary to achieve 
the objectives outlined above. 

• 

Choice of the instrument 

Since the original legislative acts are regulations of the European Parliament and the Council, 
the amendments must also be introduced as a European Parliament and Council regulation by 
means of the ordinary legislative procedure. 

3. 

• 

RESULTS 
CONSULTATIONS AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS 

EX-POST 

EVALUATIONS, 

OF 

STAKEHOLDER 

Ex-post evaluations/fitness checks of existing legislation 

Not applicable. 

• 

Stakeholder consultations 

In view of the widespread farm protests and to analyse the administrative burden weighing on 
farmers’ shoulders as well as identify areas for improvement, the Commission has written to 
four main EU-level farming organisations asking them for proposals of measures at EU level 
(CAP  and  other  EU  legislation)  which  can  reduce  administrative  burden  for  farmers.  A 
similar  letter  has  been  sent  by  the  Belgian  Presidency  of  the  Council  to  the  Ministers  of 
Agriculture,  asking  them  to  identify  issues  at  EU  level  which  can  reduce  administrative 
burden  for  farmers.  Also,  the  European  Parliament’s  committee  for  agriculture  and  rural 
development  sent  a  letter  identifying  six  areas  where  they  consider  that  concrete  and 
immediate action is necessary. The urgent nature of this proposal did not allow for a normal 
consultation process. 

This  ad-hoc  consultation  process  that  lasted  one  week  has  resulted  in  a  wide  range  of 
suggestions and proposals. The responses from all Member State administrations are wide in 

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scope, and while some are addressing practical implementation challenges and are feasible in 
the  short  run,  many  are  far  reaching  and  go  beyond  the  reduction  of  administrative  burden, 
simplification of implementation or creation of policy stability for farmers. The consultation 
of the farming organisations resulted in calls for urgent action to simplify the administrative 
burden for farmers, but  also  stressed the need for a stable  and consistent  policy framework, 
proposing  further  reforms  for  the  longer-term.  Similarly,  the  European  Parliament’s 
committee for agricultural and rural development identified a number of key priority areas of 
work. 

The Commission structured the suggestions received into five broad areas: 

1.  A  first  series  of  proposals  covers  management  of  CAP  Strategic  Plans  and 
relates to procedures around amending strategic plans (including the number of 
allowed  amendments),  performance  monitoring  and  review  (including  the 
Annual  Performance  Report),  and  certain  elements  of 
the  Integrated 
Administration  and  Control  System  (simplification  of  the  Area  Monitoring 
System  (AMS)  quality  assessment  methodology,  and  the  use  of  geo-tagged 
photos, and Geospatial Applications) as well as the control and penalty system 
(including rationalisation of all controls on a farm).  

The  Commission  responded  to  this  set  of  proposals  with  a  number  of  non-
legislative actions and has included a few targeted and limited initiatives in this 
proposal,  notably  to  facilitate  more  frequent  amendments  of  CAP  Strategic 
Plans and to eliminate conditionality controls for small farms.  

2.  A second set of proposals concerns CAP Strategic Plan actions to the benefit of 
the environment and of the climate. Many proposals concern (drastic) changes 
to  conditionality  requirements  and  controls,  but  also  other  proposals  were 
included,  e.g.  on  treatment  of  small  farms  or  financial  management  of 
environmental interventions.  

The  Commission  has  already  adopted  a  temporary  and  partial  derogation  to 
GAEC standard 8, first requirement, for 2024 and an amendment of Delegated 
Regulation (EU) 2022/126 with adjustments for GAEC standard 1. In addition, 
this proposal contains a few targeted adjustments to conditionality that aim to 
address  implementation  concerns.  The  Commission  aims  for  this  surgical 
approach  with  a  view  to  maintain  the  overall  policy  objectives  of  the  CAP 
Strategic  Plan  Regulation  as  reflected  in  the  decisions  of  the  co-legislators  in 
2021. 

3.  A  third  group  of  proposals  relates  to  other  CAP  provisions  beyond 
environment  and  climate,  such  as  expanding  coupled  support,  postponing  or 
removing  social  conditionality,  or  changes  to  sectoral  support  schemes, 
promotion  measures  and  organic  farming.  Other  suggestions  call  for  a  more 
fundamental rethink of EU agricultural policy.  

Many of these suggestions go beyond the remit of simplification and improved 
implementation of the CAP Strategic Plans. Moreover, the Commission stands 
by  key  orientations  of  the  CAP  Strategic  Plan  Regulation,  such  as  social 
conditionality.  In addition,  several  suggestions  are already  feasible within the 
increased margin of manoeuvre left to the Member States by the new delivery 
model of the CAP.  

4.  A fourth group of suggestions relates to farm income concerns and notably to 
risk  and  crisis  management,  with  suggestions  to  allocate  more  CAP  funds  to 

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crisis  management,  to  revise  CAP  provisions  on  support  to  risk  management 
instruments  and  take  action  to  improve  the  position  of  farmers  in  the  food 
chain.  

While  changes  to  financial  aspects  of  the  CAP  should  be  discussed  in  the 
context  of  the  preparation  of  the  next  Multiannual  Financial  Framework,  the 
Commission shares the concerns related to farm income and envisages actions 
to improve the position of farmers in the food chain in a separate work stream. 

5.  A fifth and final set of suggestions concern regulations outside the CAP, such 
as on deforestation, forest monitoring, sanitary rules, or renewable energy.  

The Commission is considering a number of punctual changes in acts outside 
of  the  CAP  and  is  working  on  non-legislative  measures  with  the  aim  of 
simplifying  or  clarifying  certain  rules,  while  other  policy  changes  must  be 
negotiated during ongoing legislative procedures. 

• 

Collection and use of expertise 

Not applicable (external expertise was not used). 

• 

Impact assessment 

With a view to the political urgency of tabling this proposal, which aims to respond to a crisis 
situation in EU agriculture, no impact assessment has been carried out, as foreseen in Tool #1 
of  the  Commission’s  ‘better  regulation’  guidelines  that  stipulates  the  importance  of  their 
flexible  and  proportionate  application.  This  proposal  concerns  a  number  of  targeted 
amendments  to  Regulations  (EU)  2021/2115  and  2021/2116.  Many  of  the  more  sweeping 
proposals  to  address  concerns  in  relation  to  administrative  burden  and  stable  and  effective 
implementation  of  the  CAP,  as  tabled  during  the  ad-hoc  consultation  process,  are  not 
considered.  The  Commission  is  of  the  view  that  policy  stability  is  important  and  maintains 
that  the  reformed  CAP  “plays  an  important  role  in  supporting  EU  agriculture  in  the 
transition to a sustainable farming model, while also supporting farmers’ incomes as well as 
food  security.” This  is  based on the extensive  external  assessment  of the  28 approved  CAP 
Strategic Plans that the Commission commissioned and that formed the basis for its report to 
the European Parliament and the Council of 23 November 2023: “Summary of CAP Strategic 
Plans  for  2023-2027:  joint  effort  and  collective  ambition"1,  in  which  the  aforementioned 
quote  can  be  found.  In  this  report  the  Commission  also  concluded  that  “[t]he  new  CAP 
strategic plans are an appropriate tool to pursue CAP policy objectives in an integrated way 
as  Member  States  use  them  to  prepare  and  deliver  responses  to  the  challenges  across  their 
territories,  while  prioritising  objectives  and  using  available  resources  in  an  effective  and 
efficient way.”. 

Nevertheless,  the  first  year  of  implementation  of  the  CAP  Strategic  Plan  has  shown  some 
practical  implementation  problems.  For  this  reason,  in  addition  to  non-legislative  actions, 
certain limited adjustments of the Union legal framework for the CAP are necessary to ensure 
effective  implementation  of  the  CAP  Strategic  Plans  and  in  particular  to  further  reduce 
administrative burden linked with their implementation. 

A thorough impact assessment for the reform of the CAP that was agreed in 2021 was carried 
out.  This  assessment  accompanied  the  proposals  tabled  by  the  Commission  in  20182.  This 

1 
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COM (2023) 707 final of 23.11.2023. 
SWD (2018) 301 final of 1.6.2018. 

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impact  assessment  also  provides  important  background  to  the  adjustments  contained  in  this 
proposal. More specifically, key differences between the options assessed in 2018  related to 
the  balance  of  voluntary  (“eco-scheme”)  or  obligatory  (“conditionality”)  environmental 
requirements. While the  Regulation  finally adopted is  a mix of both  approaches, the impact 
assessment (p.  35) demonstrates the advantages  and drawbacks of both.  On the basis of the 
changed  situation  and  the  experiences  in  the  first  year  of  application,  the  Commission 
proposes to rebalance in the direction of a more voluntary approach. 

• 

Regulatory fitness and simplification 

The  proposals  will  specifically  reduce  burden  for  small  farms,  which  are  micro-enterprises. 
The proposal to exempt farms under 10 hectares from conditionality controls affects 65% of 
CAP beneficiaries. 

• 

Fundamental rights  

The  proposal  respects  the  fundamental  rights  and  observes  the  principles  recognised,  in 
particular by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. 

4. 

BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS 

This proposal does not have budgetary impact.  

5. 

• 

OTHER ELEMENTS 

Implementation plans and monitoring, evaluation and reporting arrangements  

As laid down in Article 128 of the CAP Strategic Plan Regulation, a performance framework 
has been established under the shared responsibility of Member States and the Commission. 
The performance framework allows reporting, monitoring and evaluation of the performance 
of the CAP Strategic Plan during its implementation. The changes in this proposal would be 
covered by this framework. 

• 

Explanatory documents (for directives) 

Not applicable (the legal text is a regulation). 

• 

Detailed explanation of the specific provisions of the proposal 

The Commission proposes a number of changes to conditionality. 

A  general  provision  is  included  allowing  Member  States  to  allow  temporary  and  targeted 
derogations  from  certain  conditionality  requirements  in  view  of  increasingly  unpredictable 
weather  conditions  that  can  prevent  farmers  from  complying  with  requirements,  such  as 
deadlines in a given year. For the sake of  completeness of the performance, monitoring and 
evaluation  framework,  the  Commission  will  consider  that  Member  States  once  per  year 
inform  the  Commission  about  the  implementation  of  such  temporary  derogations  in 
accordance with Article 143 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, in particular paragraph 4 of that 
Article.  

Member States will also be allowed to  provide specific exemptions  from Good Agricultural 
and Environmental Condition (GAEC) standards 5, 6, 7 and 9 covering situations where there 
is  a  risk  that  the  requirements  would  run  counter  to  their  objectives,  for  instance  due  to 
particular  agronomic  situations  for  certain  crops  on  specific  soil  types  and  pedoclimatic 
conditions  or  due  to  damage  to  permanent  grasslands,  among  others  due  to  predators  or 

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invasive  species.  As  regards  individual  GAECs,  the  Commission  proposes  to  remove  from 
GAEC standard 8 the obligation to devote a minimum share of arable land to non-productive 
areas  (fallow  land)  or  features  (hedges,  trees…),  while  keeping  the  protection  of  existing 
landscape features.  Instead, Member  States  are required to  establish an eco-scheme offering 
support to farmers for keeping a share of arable land in non-productive state or to create new 
landscape  features.  This  would  ensure  that  farmers  are  specifically  rewarded  for  these  non-
productive  areas  and  features  that  are  beneficial  for  biodiversity  on  farmland  and  more 
generally for rural areas.  

With regard to  GAEC  standard 7  requiring crop  rotation, the Commission proposes to  keep 
crop  rotation  but  allow  Member  States  to  add  the  possibility  to  fulfil  this  requirement  with 
crop  diversification.  Crop  diversification  also  contributes  to  preserving  soil  potential,  by 
ensuring  diversity  of  crops  within  a  year  and  hence  indirectly  promoting  rotation  of  crops 
from  one  year  to  another.  The  Commission  believes  that  this  flexibility  will  enable  farmers 
affected by regular drought or excessive rainfall to comply with this condition in a way that is 
more compatible with farming realities. At the same time, the Commission acknowledges and 
stresses  the  agronomic  benefits  of  crop  rotation.  This  is  why  through  eco-schemes  more 
ambitious forms of crop rotation and diversification are and should continue to be rewarded, 
including notably to include protein crops in the rotation, so as to enhance soil quality and the 
resilience of crop farming. 

The  application  of  the  standard  to  cover  soil  in  sensitive  periods  (GAEC  standard  6)  has 
caused considerable  administrative  rigidities and  uncertainty  for  farmers,  who often  refer to 
‘calendar  farming’  that  does  not  recognize  the  (increasing)  variability  of  the  weather.  To 
honor the spirit of flexibility of the CAP Strategic Plans, the Commission proposes to clarify 
that implementing this conditionality standard will be mostly in the hands of Member States.  

It is also proposed to increase the number of requests for amendment of CAP Strategic Plan, 
which a Member State may submit to two per year (up from the current one per year). This is 
needed  to  address  more  quickly  farmers’  changing  situations,  including  those  caused  by 
adverse weather events. 

For the sake of reducing burden and increasing predictability of CAP support for farmers, the 
obligation for Member States to assess whether their CAP Strategic Plans need to be amended 
in case of modifications of certain Union legislation concerning the environment and climate 
and  notify  the  Commission  of  this  assessment  within  a  certain  deadline  is  proposed  to  be 
limited  to  amendments  of  legislative  acts  listed  in  Annex  XIII,  that  enter  into  force  by  31 
December  2025  at  the  latest.  The  obligation  for  Member  States  to  describe  how  the  greater 
overall  contribution  to  environmental  and  climate  objective  set  out  in  Article  105  of 
Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 is met, and how the green architecture of the CAP contributes to 
the achievement of and is consistent with long-term national targets set out or deriving from 
the legislative acts listed in Annex XIII of that Regulation remains in place. In addition, the 
Commission will estimate the climate change mitigation potential of the CAP Strategic Plans 
over the period 2023-2027. 

It is proposed to amend Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 to exempt small farmers having no more 
than 10 hectares of agricultural areas from conditionality controls and penalties. The purpose 
is  to  alleviate  the  administrative  burden,  both  for  national  administrations  and  for  farmers 
linked to controls and collection of penalties which is higher for small farms in comparison to 
bigger ones. The exemption of small farmers from conditionality controls and penalties will 
not  affect  the  controls  done  under  other  legislation  which  are  part  of  the  Statutory 
Management  Requirements  (SMRs).  In  addition,  beneficiaries  who  receive  area-based 

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payments under both a CAP Strategic Plan pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 and a rural 
development  programme  implemented  under  Regulation  (EU)  No  1305/2013  until  31 
December  2025  and  are  therefore  submitted  to  checks  of  conditionality  pursuant  to 
Regulation  (EU)  2021/2116,  should  be  exempted  from  checks  of  cross-compliance  and  the 
application of penalties pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013.  

In order to address concerns of Member States and farmers already with regard to claim year 
2024, it is proposed that amendments to GAEC standards 6, 7 and 8 as well as an exemption 
from penalties for small farmers having no more than 10 hectares of agricultural areas apply 
retroactively.  In  view  of  this,  transitional  provisions  are  proposed  for  claim  year  2024  to 
ensure  that  Member  States  may  apply  amendments  to  their  CAP  Strategic  Plans  related  to 
GAEC  standards  6,  7  and  8  before  the  Commission  approves  those  changes  in  line  with 
Article  119  of  Regulation  (EU)  2021/2115.  As  regards  GAEC  standard  8  such  a  possibility 
should  be  linked  to  the  existence  of  eco-schemes  that  would  cover  practices  for  the 
maintenance  of  non-productive  areas,  such  as  land  lying  fallow  or  eco-schemes  for  the 
establishment  of  new  landscape  features  on  arable  land.  However,  the  possibility,  including 
from a legal point of view, to provide for retroactive application as regards the amendments to 
GAEC standards 6, 7 and 8 will depend on the exact content and the date of entry into force 
of the amendments included in this Regulation. At this moment of time, it is not possible to 
decide if such a retroactive application can be provided for. The related provisions of Article 
3  and  4,  second  subparagraph  are  therefore  included  in  brackets  in  the  proposal.  Their 
feasibility should be discussed with the co-legislators in view of the final content and the date 
of entry into force of this Regulation. 

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2024/0073 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

amending Regulations (EU) 2021/2115 and (EU) 2021/2116 as regards good agricultural 
and environmental condition standards, schemes for climate, environment and animal 
welfare, amendments to CAP Strategic Plans, review of CAP Strategic Plans and 
exemptions from controls and penalties 

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article 43(2) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments, 

Having regard to the opinion of the Court of Auditors, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee3,  
Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions4,  

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

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4 
5 

6 

Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 of the European Parliament and Council5 establishes rules 
on  support  for  strategic  plans  to  be  drawn  up  by  Member  States  under  the  common 
agricultural  policy  (CAP  Strategic  Plans)  and  financed  by  the  European  Agricultural 
Guarantee  Fund  (EAGF)  and  by  the  European  Agricultural  Fund  for  Rural 
Development (EAFRD). Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 of the European Parliament and 
Council6  establishes  rules  on  the  financing,  management  and  monitoring  of  the 
common agricultural policy.  

Despite  the  fact  that  these  Regulations  give  substantial  flexibility  to  Member  States 
and  have  the  potential  to  reduce  farmers’  administrative  burdens,  the  first  year  of 
concrete application of these Regulations, through CAP Strategic Plans has made clear 
that  certain  limited  adjustments  of  the  Union  legal  framework  for  the  common 
agricultural  policy (CAP)  are necessary to  ensure  an effective implementation of the 

OJ C […], […], p. […]. 
OJ C […], […], p. […]. 
Regulation  (EU)  2021/2115  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  2  December  2021 
establishing rules on support for strategic plans to be drawn up by Member States under the common 
agricultural  policy (CAP  Strategic  Plans)  and  financed  by the  European  Agricultural  Guarantee  Fund 
(EAGF)  and  by  the  European  Agricultural  Fund  for  Rural  Development  (EAFRD)  and  repealing 
Regulations  (EU)  No  1305/2013  and  (EU)  No  1307/2013  (OJ  L  435,  6.12.2021,  p.  1,  ELI: 
http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/2115/oj). 
Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 2 December 2021 on the 
financing,  management  and  monitoring  of  the  common  agricultural  policy  and  repealing  Regulation 
(EU) No 1306/2013 (OJ L 435, 6.12.2021, p. 187, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/2116/oj). 

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CAP  Strategic  Plans  and 
implementation of such Plans and with the control of certain requirements. 

to  reduce  administrative  burden 

linked  with 

the 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

In addition, farmers are facing an exceptional range of difficulties and uncertainties. In 
particular, the last years have been characterised by an important number of extreme 
meteorological events, including droughts and floodings in various parts of the Union. 
These  events  affect  output  and  revenue,  and  also  strongly  impact  the  execution  and 
calendar  of  normal  agronomic  practices.  The  high  energy  and  input  prices  and 
uncertainties  resulting  from  the  Russian  war  of  aggression  against  Ukraine,  costs  of 
living,  inflation,  the  2023  drop  in  cereal  production  value  and  the  change  in 
international trade flows have led to further uncertainties and pressure on farmers. The 
concurrence of these events puts a heavy pressure on farmers to adapt the management 
of  their  holdings  and  the  execution  of  agronomic  practices,  as  managers  of  natural 
resources and as economic actors.  

As  a  consequence,  there  is  a  need  to  review  and  simplify  certain  provisions  of 
Regulation  (EU)  2021/2115  and  Regulation  (EU)  2021/2116  to  ensure  that  Member 
States  may  better  adapt  their  CAP  Strategic  Plans  to  farmers’  needs  and  provide 
farmers  with  more  flexibility  to  carry  out  their  agricultural  activities  taking  into 
account  the  increasing  challenges,  unpredictability  of  weather  and  economic 
uncertainties.  

Article  13  of  Regulation  (EU)  2021/2115  requires  Member  States  to  ensure  that  all 
agricultural areas, including land which is no longer used for production purposes, are 
maintained  in  good  agricultural  and  environmental  condition.  Member  States  are  to 
set,  at  national  or  regional  level,  minimum  standards  for  farmers  and  other 
beneficiaries for each good agricultural and environmental condition (GAEC) standard 
listed  in  Annex  III  to  that  Regulation,  in  line  with  the  main  objective  of  those 
standards as referred to in that Annex. The objective of soil protection and soil quality 
pursued by GAEC standards 5, 6 and 7 are affected by many factors, such as soil type, 
choice  of  crops,  climatic  and  weather  conditions  or  past  and  present  land  use  and 
farming  systems,  such  as  organic  farming  requiring  a  different  approach  to  certain 
operations.  Experience  shows  that  there  could  be  situations  where  imposing  certain 
requirements,  without  due  consideration  for  these  factors,  such  as  restrictions  on 
tillage  or  obligations  to  sow  during  a  specific  period,  may  negatively  impact  certain 
soils  or  certain  crops,  and  even  risk  going  against  the  objective  of  soil  protection. 
GAEC  standard  9  sets  a  ban  on  converting  or  ploughing  permanent  grasslands 
designated as environmentally sensitive in Natura 2000 sites. Experience has however 
shown  there  may  be  exceptional  situations  where  such  environmentally  sensitive 
permanent  grassland  is  damaged,  for  instance  by  predators  or  invasive  species,  and 
appropriate  measures  to  address  such  situations,  including  exceptions  to  the  ban  on 
ploughing  of  the  areas  concerned,  to  restore  such  permanent  grassland,  may  be 
necessary to ensure that the GAEC standard 9 requirements contribute to protection of 
habitats and species.    

The increasing number of extreme meteorological events  and instances of damage to 
permanent grasslands designated as  environmentally sensitive, due to factors such as 
predators  or  invasive  species,  increases  the  incidence  of  specific  problems  in  the 
application of the requirements of GAEC standards 5, 6, 7 and 9, which the Member 
States  need  to  address.  There  is  also  a  risk  that  such  requirements  would  be 
disproportionate in view of their actual contribution to the soil protection objective for 
GAEC standards 5, 6 and 7 and protection of habitats and species for GAEC standard 
9.  To  avoid  such  situations,  Member  States  should  be  allowed  to  establish  specific 

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exemptions from the requirements of GAEC standards 5, 6, 7 and 9 to address specific 
problems  in  the  application  of  those  GAEC  standards,  based  on  objective  and  non-
discriminatory  criteria,  such  as  soil  types,  crops  or  farming  systems  or  damage  to 
permanent  grasslands,  among  others  due  to  predators  or  invasive  species.  Those 
exemptions  should  be  limited  in  their  area  coverage  and  should  not  hamper  the 
contribution  of  those  standards  to  their  main  objectives,  listed  in  Annex  III  to 
Regulation (EU) 2021/2115.  

(7)  Weather  conditions  and  the  resulting  impact  on  the  conditions  of  agricultural  areas, 
may prevent farmers and other beneficiaries from complying with the requirements of 
the GAEC standards, such as time limits and periods for operations, in a given year. 
To avoid that farmers are faced with such requirements and are obliged, for example, 
to sow crops by a certain date while the weather conditions  in the given year do not 
permit  to  perform  the  necessary  operations,  or  only  with  serious  negative  impact  on 
the  soil,  such  as  soil  compaction,  Member  States  should,  when  implementing  the 
minimum standards set in accordance with Article 13 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, 
be  allowed  to  provide  for  temporary  derogations  from  those  requirements.  These 
temporary  derogations  should  be  limited  in  their  scope  to  farmers  and  other 
beneficiaries  or  areas  affected  by  the  weather  conditions  and  should  be  applied  by 
Member States only for as long as they are strictly necessary. 

(8) 

Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 provides for a number of elements and tools for Member 
States  to  address  the  specific  objective  to  contribute  to  halting  and  reversing 
biodiversity  loss,  enhance  ecosystem  services  and  preserve  habitats  and  landscapes 
referred to in Article 6(1), point (f), of that Regulation. One of those elements is the 
system  of  conditionality.  In  particular,  GAEC  standard  8,  listed  in  Annex  III  to  that 
Regulation,  comprises  several  requirements,  including  an  obligation  to  devote  a 
certain share of arable land to non-productive areas and features. The main objective 
of  GAEC  standard  8  is  the  maintenance  of  non-productive  features  and  areas  to 
improve  on-farm  biodiversity.  Member  States  may  also  design  interventions 
supporting this objective, for instance, eco-schemes, referred to in Article 31(4), point 
(g), of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115. In the context of the challenges and uncertainties 
deriving  from  the  concurrence  of  adverse  events  and  economic  uncertainties, 
experience has shown a need to adjust the balance between the different policy  tools 
contributing to protection and enhancement of biodiversity to give more flexibility to 
farmers  to  contribute  to  this  objective  depending  on  the  specific  situation  of  their 
holding and to provide an enhanced financial compensation for such contribution.  

(9)  More specifically, as the obligation to devote a share of arable land to non-productive 
areas and features is currently part of GAEC standard 8, first requirement, as listed in 
Annex  III  to  Regulation  (EU)  2021/2115,  farmers  applying  for  direct  payments  and 
interventions referred to in Articles 70, 71 and 72 of that Regulation, need to respect 
such requirement without any compensation of the costs incurred or income foregone. 
This  may  in  certain  cases  entail  an  important  financial  burden  for  the  farmers  and 
beneficiaries concerned, in particular considering that no crop or animal production is 
possible on the arable land dedicated to non-productive areas or features under GAEC 
standard  8,  first  requirement.  Considering  the  burden  and  consequences  for  certain 
farmers and the exceptional range of difficulties and uncertainties they are facing, the 
need  to  have  non-productive  areas  and  features  on  arable  land  would  be  better 
addressed through a tool providing for more flexibility, and more importantly, offering 
an incentive compensating for at least part of the costs incurred and income foregone 
linked  with  such  non-productive  areas  and  features.  Accordingly,  Article  31  of 

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Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 should be amended to ensure that Member States provide 
support  for  eco-schemes  covering  practices  for  the  maintenance  of  non-productive 
areas, such as land lying fallow, and for the establishment of new landscape features, 
on arable land.  

(10)  At the same time, the conditionality system established by Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 
should be adjusted by deleting the first requirement of GAEC standard 8, as listed in 
Annex  III to  that Regulation. The obligation to  protect  landscape features as well as 
the ban on cutting hedges and trees during the bird breeding and rearing season, which 
are currently part of the requirements under GAEC standard 8, should be maintained 
as  a  part  of  the  conditionality  system  to  ensure  that  existing  landscape  features  on 
agricultural areas are protected.  

(11)  The Member States should be given additional flexibility to amend their CAP Strategic 
Plans whilst ensuring the stability of the strategy, manageability of the CAP Strategic 
Plans, as well as the administrative efficiency of the amendment process. Experience 
has  shown  that  addressing  the  specific  requirements  of  both  the  EAGF  and  the 
EAFRD  in  one  request  for  amendment  may  be  challenging.  At  the  same  time,  the 
number of the amendments per calendar year should be limited so as to ensure that the 
farmers  and  other  beneficiaries  have  sufficient  time  to  take  the  amendments  into 
account, as well as to limit the administrative burden to the Member States and enable 
the Commission  to  assess the compatibility  of the amendments with  the  Union legal 
framework laid down in Regulations (EU) 2021/2115 and  2021/2116, within the time 
limits  set  out  in  that  legal  framework.    For  these  reasons,  the  maximum  number  of 
requests for amendments of CAP Strategic Plans should be increased to two requests 
for amendment per calendar year. 

(12)  According to Article 120 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, Member States are obliged to 
assess whether their CAP Strategic Plans need to be amended in case of modifications 
of the Union legislative acts listed in Annex XIII to that Regulation and to notify the 
Commission  of  their  assessment  within  a  certain  deadline.  Since  this  obligation  has 
proved to be burdensome to Member States and the efforts that Member States would 
need to invest in the assessment for the remainder of the current CAP Strategic Plans’ 
programming period should be limited, the obligation should not apply to amendments 
of legislative acts listed in Annex XIII, that enter into force after 31 December 2025.   

(13)  Experience  shows  that  the  concurrence  of  numerous  adverse  events  brings  about 
challenges  for  farmers,  requiring  increased  flexibility  and  a  simplification  of  the 
implementation  of  the  CAP  Strategic  Plans,  with  regard  to  certain  GAEC  standards, 
listed in Annex III to Regulation (EU) 2021/2115.  

(14)  GAEC standard 6, has as the main objective to ensure protection of soil in periods that 
are  most  sensitive  by  means  of  a  minimum  soil  cover  to  avoid  bare  soils  in  such 
sensitive periods. More importantly than for other GAEC standards, a broad range of 
factors  affect  the  design  and  implementation  of  the  requirements  under  this  GAEC 
standard.  In  particular,  the  minimum  soil  cover  may  be  ensured  by  different  means, 
which depend not only on the climatic and soil conditions, but also on factors such as 
the choice of crops and duration of the growing season in a given year. Besides, there 
may be different sensitive periods depending in particular on specific soil and climate 
conditions.  Moreover,  when  making  production  choices  and  in  particular  sowing 
decisions,  farmers  and  other  beneficiaries  need  to  be  able  to  reconcile  the  respect  of 
the requirements of GAEC standard 6 with unpredictable weather conditions. In view 
of  these  factors,  Member  States  should  be  able  to  manage  more  flexibly  such 

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requirements  of  GAEC  standard  6,  compared  to  other  GAEC  standards,  in  a  way 
which  ensures  the  contribution  of  such  requirements  to  the  main  objective  of  that 
standard,  while  taking  into  account  a  range  of  factors,  such  as  soil  and  climatic 
conditions.  

(15)  Member States should therefore be allowed to determine the main elements of GAEC 
standard 6 and summarise them in the CAP Strategic Plans, in accordance with Article 
109(2), point (a), of Regulation  (EU) 2021/2115. The Commission  should ensure, in 
accordance  with  Articles  13(1)  and  109(2)  and  Articles  118  and  119  of  that 
Regulation, that the GAEC standard 6 as determined by the Member States is, overall, 
in line with the main objective of that GAEC standard.      

(16)  The  main  objective  of  GAEC  standard  7  listed  in  Annex  III  to  Regulation  (EU) 
2021/2115 is to preserve the soil potential. Considering that crop diversification may 
also contribute to preserving the soil potential while being simpler for certain farmers 
to  implement  in  the  context  of  the  multiple  pressures  and  challenges  they  currently 
face,  Member  States  should  have  the  possibility  to  allow  farmers  to  comply  with 
GAEC  standard  7  also  through  crop  diversification.  In  view  of  this,  minimum 
requirements concerning crop diversification should be set.  

(17) 

It is important that the CAP continues to contribute to the environmental objectives set 
out  in  Article  6(1),  point  (d)  to  (g)  of  Regulation  (EU)  2021/2115  through  the 
conditionality requirements. It is also important that the stability of these requirements 
as  the  common  baseline  for  Member  States  and  farmers  is  ensured.      Therefore,  the 
conditionality  requirements  should  continue  to  apply  to  all  farmers.  However,  the 
administrative  burden  linked  to  the  controls  of  the  conditionality  requirements  as 
provided  for  in  Regulation  (EU)  2021/2116  can  be  disproportionately  high  on  small 
farmers  and  national  administration.  Therefore,  in  addition  to  the  flexibilities  as 
regards  GAEC  standards  6,  7  and  8,  the  burden  for  small  farmers  and  national 
administrations linked to controls provided by Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 should be 
eased.  Farmers  with  a  maximum  size  of  holding  not  exceeding  10  hectares  of 
agricultural  area  should  in  consequence  not  be  controlled  under  the  conditionality 
system as regards the respect of statutory management requirements under Union law 
and  the  good  agricultural  and  environmental  conditions.  As  such  small  farmers 
represent  65%  of  CAP  beneficiaries  but  account  only  for  around  10%  of  the  total 
agricultural  area,  this  would  simplify  the  work  for  many  farmers  and  national 
administrations  while  not  hampering  significantly  the  role  of  the  conditionality 
requirements in contributing to their objectives due to the relatively small agricultural 
surface managed by small farmers.  

low  for  small  farmers, 

(18)  Since the agricultural surface managed by small farmers is limited and penalties are in 
general 
to 
disproportionate burden for Member States’ administration. Small farmers, which are 
exempted from the controls, should therefore also be exempted from the application of 
administrative penalties for non-compliance with the conditionality requirements. 

the  application  of  penalties  could 

lead 

(19) 

In order to avoid excessive administrative costs and burdens related to conditionality 
and  cross  compliance  checks,  beneficiaries  who  receive  area-based  payments  under 
both  a  CAP  Strategic  Plan  pursuant  to  Regulation  (EU)  2021/2115  and  a  rural 
development  programme  implemented  under  Regulation  (EU)  No  1305/2013  of  the 

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European  Parliament  and  Council7  until  31  December  2025  and  are  therefore 
submitted to checks of conditionality pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2021/2116, should 
be  exempted  from  checks  of  cross-compliance  and  the  application  of  penalties 
pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013.  

(20)  Regulations (EU) 2021/2115 and 2021/2116 should therefore be amended accordingly. 

(21) 

(22) 

(23) 

[In order to ensure a smooth implementation of the measures laid down in Article 1(6), 
points (a), (b) and (c) of this Regulation, transitional provisions need to be laid down 
as  regards  amendments  of  CAP  Strategic  Plans  submitted  by  Member  States  for 
Commission approval pursuant to Article 119 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 in 2024 
and as regards the effects of those amendments in 2024 prior to the approval of those 
amendments by the Commission.]   

In order to ensure a smooth implementation of the measures envisaged and as a matter 
of urgency in view of the exceptional range of difficulties and uncertainties faced by 
farmers,  this  Regulation  should  enter  into  force  on  the  day  following  that  of  its 
publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. 

[In  order  to  avoid  disproportionate  administrative  burden  for  small  farmers  and  for 
national  authorities,  the  exemption  from  penalties  related  to  non-compliance  of  the 
conditionality  requirements  or  of  cross-compliance  requirements  should  apply 
retroactively as regards claim year 2024.] 

(24) 

[Considering that the claim year 2024 started on 1 January 2024, Article 1(6), points 
(a), (b) and (c), of this Regulation should apply for claim year 2024 to give Member 
States the possibility to apply the amendments referred therein for claim year 2024.]   

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

Article 1 

Amendments to Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 

Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 is amended as follows: 

(1) 

Article 4 is amended as follows: 

(a) 

in paragraph 3, point (a) is replaced by the following:  

‘(a)  ‘arable  land’  shall  be  land  cultivated  for  crop  production  or  areas  available  for  crop 
production but lying fallow; in addition, it shall, for the duration of the commitment, be land 
cultivated for crop production or areas available for crop production but lying fallow that have 
been set aside in accordance with Article 31 or Article 70 of this Regulation, or with Articles 
22,  23  or  24  of  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  1257/1999(*),  or  with  Article  39  of  Council 

7 

Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on 
support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and 
repealing  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  1698/2005  (OJ  L  347,  20.12.2013,  p.  487,  ELI: 
http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2013/1305/oj). 

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Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005(**), or with Article 28 of Regulation  (EU) No 1305/2013 of 
the European Parliament and of the Council (***). 

________________ 

(*) Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 of 17 May 1999 on support for rural development from the European 
Agricultural  Guidance  and  Guarantee  Fund  (EAGGF)  and  amending  and  repealing  certain  Regulations  (OJ  L 
160, 26.6.1999, p. 80, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/1999/1257/oj). 

(**) Council Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 of 20 September 2005 on support for rural development by the European 
Agricultural  Fund 
1,  ELI: 
http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2005/1698/oj). 

for  Rural  Development 

21.10.2005, 

(EAFRD) 

(OJ  L 

277, 

p. 

(***) Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on support 
for  rural  development  by  the  European  Agricultural  Fund  for  Rural  Development  (EAFRD)  and  repealing  Council 
Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 487, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2013/1305/oj).’; 

(b) 

in paragraph 4, first subparagraph, point (b) is replaced by the following: 

‘(b) any area of the holding which is:  

(i) 

(ii) 

covered by landscape features subject to the retention obligation under GAEC 
standard 8 listed in Annex III; or 

for  the  duration  of  the  relevant  commitment  by  the  farmer,  established  or 
maintained as a result of an eco-scheme referred to in Article 31. 

If Member States so decide, ‘eligible hectare’ may contain other landscape features, provided 
they are not predominant and do not significantly hamper the performance of the agricultural 
activity due to the area they occupy on the agricultural parcel. In implementing that principle, 
Member  States  may  set  a  maximum  share  of  the  agricultural  parcel  covered  by  those  other 
landscape features. 

As regards permanent grassland with scattered ineligible features, Member States may decide 
to apply fixed reduction coefficients to determine the area considered eligible.’; 

(2) 

Article 13 is amended as follows: 

(a) 

paragraph 1 is replaced by the following: 

‘1. Member States  shall ensure that all agricultural  areas, including  land  which is  no longer 
used  for  production  purposes,  are  maintained  in  good  agricultural  and  environmental 
condition.  Member  States  shall  set,  at  national  or  regional  level,  minimum  standards  for 
farmers and other beneficiaries for each GAEC standard listed in  Annex III in line with the 
main  objective  of  those  standards  as  referred  to  in  that  Annex.  In  setting  their  standards, 
Member States shall take into account, where relevant, the specific characteristics of the areas 
concerned including soil and climatic condition, existing farming systems, farming practices, 
farm size and farm structures, land use, and the specificities of outermost regions.  

In setting the GAEC standards 5, 6, 7 or 9 listed in Annex III, Member States may establish 
specific exemptions from the requirements of those standards. The specific exemptions from 
GAEC standards 5, 6, 7 or 9 shall be based on objective and non-discriminatory criteria, such 
as  crops,  soil  types  and  farming  systems  or  damage  to  permanent  grasslands,  among  others 
due to predators or invasive species, and shall be limited in terms of their area coverage. The 
specific exemptions shall be established only where and to the extent that they are necessary 
to address specific problems in the application of those standards  and shall not significantly 
hamper the contribution of each of those standards to their main objectives, listed in Annex 
III.’; 

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(b) 

the following paragraph 2a is inserted: 

‘2a. When implementing the minimum standards set in accordance with  paragraphs 1 and 2 
Member States may allow temporary derogations from requirements such as time limits and 
periods set in those standards in the case of weather conditions preventing farmers and other 
beneficiaries  from  complying  with  those  requirements  in  a  given  year.  These  temporary 
derogations shall be limited in their scope to farmers and other beneficiaries or areas affected 
by the weather conditions and be applied only for as long as they are strictly necessary.’; 

(3) 

in Article 31, the following paragraph 1a is inserted: 

‘1a.  As  a  part  of  the  eco-schemes  referred  to  in  paragraph  1,  Member  States  shall  establish 
and  provide  support  for  schemes  covering  practices  for  the  maintenance  of  non-productive 
areas,  such  as  land  lying  fallow,  and  for  the  establishment  of  new  landscape  features,  on 
arable  land.  These  schemes  shall  be  voluntary  for  active  farmers  and  groups  of  active 
farmers.’; 

(4) 

in Article 119, paragraph 7 is replaced by the following: 

‘7. A request for amendment of the CAP Strategic Plan may be submitted twice per calendar 
year, subject to possible exceptions provided for in this Regulation or to be determined by the 
Commission  in  accordance  with  Article  122.  In  addition,  three  further  requests  for 
amendment  of  the  CAP  Strategic  Plan  may  be  submitted  during  the  duration  of  the  CAP 
Strategic Plan period. This paragraph shall not apply to requests for amendments to submit the 
missing elements in accordance with Article 118(5).’; 

(5) 

in Article 120 the following paragraph is added:  

‘Paragraph 1 shall not apply to amendments of legislative acts listed in Annex XIII, that enter 
into force after 31 December 2025.’ 

(6) 

Annex III is amended as follows: 

(a) 

in the table, the entry for ‘GAEC 6’ is replaced by the following: 

‘ 

GAEC 6 

Minimum  soil  cover  to 
avoid  bare  soil  in  periods 
that are most sensitive, as 
determined  by  Member 
States(****). 

Protection  of  soils 
periods 
sensitive 

in 
that  are  most 

(****) Member States may in particular take into account the short vegetation period resulting from the 
length and severity of the winter period in regions concerned.’  

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(b) 

in the table, the entry for GAEC 7 is replaced by the following: 

‘ 

GAEC 7 

Preserving 
potential 

the 

soil 

Crop  rotation  in  arable 
land,  except  for  crops 
growing 
under  water. 
Member  States  may  in 
addition  decide  to  allow 
farmers 
other 
and 
beneficiaries  to  fulfil  this 
crop 
standard 
diversification (*****). 

with 

(*****)  Rotation  shall  consist  in  a  change  of  crop  at  land  parcel  level  (except  in  case  of  multiannual 
crops, grasses and other herbaceous forage, and land lying fallow), including the appropriately managed 
secondary crops. 

On  the  basis  of  diversity  of  farming  methods  and  agro-climatic  conditions,  Member  States  may 
authorise in the regions concerned other practices of enhanced crop rotation with leguminous crops or 
crop diversification which aim at improving and preserving the soil potential in line with the objectives 
of this GAEC standard. 

When defining crop diversification requirements, Member States shall  respect the following minimum 
requirements: 

-  where  the  size  of  arable  land  of  a  holding  is  between 10  and  30 hectares,  crop  diversification  shall 
consist in cultivation of arable land of a holding with  at least two different crops. The main crop shall 
not cover more than 75 % of that arable land.  

- where the size of arable land of a holding is more than 30 hectares, crop diversification shall consist in 
cultivation of arable land of a holding with at least three different crops on that arable land. The main 
crop shall not cover more than 75 % of that arable land and the two main crops together shall not cover 
more than 95 % of that arable land.  

Member States may exempt from the obligations under this standard holdings: 

(a)  where more than 75 % of the arable land is used for the production of grasses or other herbaceous 
forage, is land lying fallow, is used for cultivation of leguminous crops, or is subject to a combination 
of those uses; 

(b)    where  more  than  75  %  of  the  eligible  agricultural  area  is  permanent  grassland,  is  used  for  the 
production of grasses or other herbaceous forage or for the cultivation of crops under water either for a 
significant part of the year or for a significant part of the crop cycle, or is subject to a combination of 
those uses; or 
(c)  with a size of arable land up to 10 hectares. 

Member  States  may  introduce  a  maximum  limit  of  area  covered  with  a  single  crop  to  prevent  large 
monocultures. 

Farmers  certified  in  accordance  with  Regulation  (EU)  2018/848(******)  shall  be  deemed  to  comply 
with this GAEC standard. 

________________ 

(******) Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 on 
organic  production  and  labelling  of  organic  products  and  repealing  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No 
834/2007 (OJ L 150, 14.6.2018, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2018/848/oj).’; 

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(c) 

in the table, the entry for ‘GAEC 8’ is replaced by the following: 

‘ 

GAEC 8 

Maintenance 
productive 
improve 
biodiversity 

of 
features 

non-
to 
on-farm 

— Retention of landscape 
features 

—  Ban  on  cutting  hedges 
and  trees  during  the  bird 
breeding 
rearing 
and 
season 

— As an option, measures 
for 
invasive 
plant species 

avoiding 

’  

Article 2 

Amendments to Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 

Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 is amended as follows: 

(1) 

in Article 83, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following: 

‘2.  By  way  of  derogation  from  paragraph  1,  farmers  with  a  maximum  size  of  holdings  not 
exceeding 10 hectares of agricultural area declared in accordance with Article 69(1) shall be 
exempted  from  controls  under  the  system  set  up  in  accordance  with  paragraph  1  of  this 
Article.’ 

(2) 

in Article 84, the following paragraph is added: 

‘4.    By  way  of  derogation  from  paragraphs  1  to  3  and  from  Article  85,  farmers  with  a 
maximum  size  of  holdings  not  exceeding  10  hectares  of  agricultural  area  declared  in 
accordance with Article 69(1) shall be exempted from the penalties referred to in paragraphs 1 
to 3 and in Article 85;’ 

(3) 

in  Article  104,  (1),  second  subparagraph,  point  (a),  point  (iv)  is  replaced  by  the 
following: 

‘(iv)  as  regards  the  EAFRD,  in  relation  to  expenditure  incurred  by  the  beneficiaries  and 
payments  made  by  the  paying  agency  in  the  framework  of  the  implementation  of  rural 
development programmes pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013, with the exception of 
Article  96  and  97  of  Regulation  (EU)  No  1306/2013  as  regards  beneficiaries  who  are 
submitted to the system of control referred to in Article 83 of this Regulation;’    

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[Article 3 

Transitional provisions 

(1) 

(2) 

By  way  of  derogation  from  Article  119(8),  third  subparagraph,  of  Regulation  (EU) 
2021/2115,  the  date  of  effect  of  amendments  of  CAP  Strategic  Plans  related  to  the 
EAGF  submitted  by  Member  States  to  Commission  approval  pursuant  to  Article 
119(2) of that Regulation in  respect  to  claim year 2024 in  relation  to  elements  laid 
down in Article 1(6), point (a),  (b) and (c) of this Regulation shall not be subject to 
Commission approval. 

By way of derogation from Article 119(11) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, Member 
States  may  decide  for  claim  year  2024  that  amendments  to  CAP  Strategic  Plans 
related to elements laid down in Article 1(6), point (a), (b) and (c) of this Regulation, 
may have legal effects before their approval by the Commission. For the element laid 
down in Article 1(6), point (c) of this Regulation, the Member States may take that 
decision only if they apply for the claim year 2024 a scheme covering practices for 
the  maintenance  of  non-productive  areas,  such  as  land  lying  fallow,  or  for  the 
establishment of new landscape features, on arable land, referred to in Article 31 of 
Regulation (EU) 2021/2115.  

In  taking  this  decision,  Member  States  shall  ensure  that  the  general  principles  of 
Union  law,  in  particular  the  principle  of  legal  certainty,  the  principle  of  non-
discrimination  and  the  protection  of  legitimate  expectations  of  farmers  and  other 
beneficiaries  are  respected  and  the  need  of  farmers  and  other  beneficiaries  to  have 
sufficient time to comply with the amendments is taken into account.] 

Article 4 

Entry into force and application 

This  Regulation  shall  enter  into  force  on  the  day  following  that  of  its  publication  in  the 
Official Journal of the European Union. 

[Article 1(6), points (a), (b) and (c) and Article 2 points (2) and (3) shall apply for claim year 
2024.] 

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. 

Done at Brussels, 

For the European Parliament 
The President 

For the Council 
The President 

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