Eight of the 27 member states of the European Union have failed to submit new CAP Strategic Plans.

The Irish Government submitted its plan last month, ahead of the 1 January 2022 deadline.

Nine states had failed to do so before this date, with another now having submitted its plan since, bringing the total to 19 member state plans completed and submitted.

Awaiting submission

The European Commission awaits the submission of CAP strategic plans for 2023-2027 from Belgium (which has to complete one each from Flanders and Wallonia), Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Germany, Latvia, Luxembourg, Romania and Slovakia.

In a recent statement, European Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski thanked the governments of the 18 member states that had submitted national plans by the 1 January deadline.

“The European Commission looks forward to the submission of the other countries’ plans as soon as possible,” he said.

Rewriting

It is understood that some of the eight member states yet to make their submissions are “hastily rewriting the blueprints”.

New Czech Republic minister Zdenek Nekula has said that he is “tearing up” Prague's draft and replacing it with something which “does more for the environment”.

Germany's new green minister Cem Özdemir is believed to be doing much the same in Berlin, with the plans drawn up by his Christian Democrat predecessor Julia Klöckner currently being rewritten.

It remains to be seen what sanctions, if any, will be applied to those countries that have missed the deadline.