Changes to the way farmers are paid will save farmers across Europe more than €1.5 billion and cut administration costs by a further €210 million, the European Commission says.
The EU is spending €387 billion on farm subsidies in the current budget that runs until 2027. Agriculture takes the biggest share of the entire EU budget.
Because it is public money – and on such a large scale – farmers are subject to stringent checks. The checks are supposed to check that the money is going to the right people and being used the way it is supposed to.
But those checks can tangle farmers in red tape.
Now the European Commission has promised to simplify the rules.
“Farmers across the EU are subject to heavy administrative obligations that often fail to reflect the
realities on the ground”, the European Commission admits.
“This regulatory burden is time consuming and generates costs for farmers and national administrations.”
Under the new proposals, the annual lump-sum payment limit for small farmers will be increased from €1,250 to €2,500, certified organic farms will automatically be considered as meeting some of the EU’s
environmental requirements for funding and checks will be “streamlined” including by using tech such as satellite imagery.
Whilst most farmers are honest, over the years, there have been numerous stories of bogus farmers exaggerating the size of their land or what they are farming in order to get more money out of the EU.
The European Commission now believes the balance between trusting farmers and ensuring public money is well spent has got out of kilter.
“The Commission is tackling, as matter of priority, overlapping, unnecessary, or disproportionate rules that place an undue burden on EU businesses and prevent development. The Commission is setting a new course towards simplifying EU rules to make the EU economy more competitive and more prosperous.”
The EU’s Farming Commissioner, Christophe Hansen, hit back at suggestion that simplifying the rules could result in environmental ambitions being watered down. Rather, he said, it was about not forcing farmers to go through the same checks twice.
“If it is once green, it doesn’t have to be twice green”.
The changes in the rules will have to be approved by the European Parliament and EU governments including Ireland before they take effect.