The European Parliament decided to raise no objections to the Commission delegated regulation of 12 March 2024 amending Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/126 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the rules on the ratio for the good agricultural and environmental condition (GAEC) standard 1.
Since 1 January 2023, Member States are implementing their CAP Strategic Plans including the obligation to maintain a ratio of permanent grassland compared to agricultural area as set out as a part of Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition of Land (GAEC) Standard 1 (‘GAEC 1’) in Annex III to Regulation (EU) 2021/2115.
Experience since the start of the implementation of GAEC 1 shows that these rules need to be amended to avoid putting a disproportionate burden on farmers where structural changes to Member State’s farming systems caused by market reorientation, such as a shift from livestock production to arable land farming and a reduction in livestock production, substantially impact the ability of farmers to establish permanent grasslands while maintaining their viability.
In certain situations, Member States may have to impose obligations on beneficiaries to reconvert areas into permanent grassland or establish areas of permanent grassland, even though the decreases in the annual ratio are due to fluctuations in the declared areas.
In some circumstances, areas of permanent grassland may be registered in the Land Parcel Identification System but not declared for direct payments by farmers in a given year, or the total agricultural area may increase due to additional declarations by farmers.
In such situations where the decrease of the annual ratio beyond the 5 % threshold set out in Annex III to Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 does not result from the conversion of areas of permanent grassland into other agricultural uses, it could be disproportionate to impose on farmers obligations to establish additional areas of permanent grassland.
It is appropriate to allow for a certain degree of flexibility while ensuring compliance with the main objective of GAEC 1 to have a general safeguard against conversion to other agricultural uses to preserve carbon stock and with the maximum decrease of the ratio set out in Annex III to Regulation (EU) 2021/2115.
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/126(2), which lays down rules on the ratio for GAEC 1, should therefore be amended.
Parliament declared that it has no objections to the delegated regulation.