The burden of red tape placed on small- and medium-sized farmers will be lessened if the European Commission lives up to its pledge to simplify CAP schemes.

The Commission has committed to delivering an “unprecedented” economy-wide easing of regulations later this year, which will include agriculture, and a further simplification effort is planned specifically for the CAP.

While a plan for simplifying farmers’ cross-compliance requirements is to be outlined by the Commission, all environmental targets set down in the Green Deal and Farm to Fork strategies will remain in place.

This will seek to move CAP away from a “one-size-fits-all” approach on scheme terms and conditions which fails to account for specific farm practices at local-level.

“Flexibility will be extended to farmers, giving them further agency in designing farming practices that are more tailored to their farms and context,” the roadmap states.

The next CAP is also to look at handing more responsibility for CAP rules back to member states on which measures they want to implement to meet EU-wide targets.

On environmental measures, the Commission has also committed to orienting the next CAP “away from conditions” and towards “incentives”.