The 2021-2027 programming cycle includes many new features on agricultural and rural funds: let’s find out together what they are.<\/p>\n
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The so-called Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and European funds for agriculture have been a central issue in the EU since their establishment in 1962. <\/span><\/p>\n They are associated with many of the EU’s strategic goals: ensuring a certain level of food self-sufficiency in Europe (an issue that is by no means a given, even in light of the<\/span>current international situation<\/span><\/a>); regulate food price fluctuations (a crucial issue especially for the most vulnerable social groups); safeguard natural resources, the environment and the landscape; protect the health, safety and quality of food; and safeguard the income and jobs of farmers and a wide range of economic activities revolving around agriculture (food industry, tourism, services, other non-food production related to agriculture and forestry).<\/span><\/p>\n Specific measures are needed to achieve all these goals, as agricultural production is subject to various vulnerability and uncertainty factors related to climate, natural events, and also economic aspects, which under normal market conditions make farming less profitable and attractive to workers (resulting in the risk of abandonment of the countryside) and more subject to international competition (price competition with products from other countries). These measures were among the first to be adopted at the community level because they intervene directly in the market, which the European institutions aim to keep single and integrated.<\/span><\/p>\n On the other hand, the Common Agricultural Policy has been (and is) criticized by many observers, institutions, and organizations because of its distorting effects on the market and the substantial resources it absorbs:<\/span><\/p>\n Approximately one third of the EU budget is devoted to the CAP: as we showed in the <\/span>chapter on European institutions and policies.<\/span><\/a>, about one third of the Community budget for this seven-year period is devoted to the CAP (EAFRD and EAGF funds), about one third to the Cohesion Policy (Structural Funds), and about one third to the implementation of the various <\/span>Community programs<\/span><\/a>. <\/span> <\/p>\n A proportion that was even higher in the past and is considered excessive by some; but it certainly makes agriculture a “hot” topic for those dealing with European funds.<\/span><\/p>\n For this reason, the current edition of the Europlanning Guide includes a specific focus on agricultural and rural funds, the <\/span>\n EAFRD<\/span>\n<\/a> and the <\/span>\n EAGF<\/span>\n<\/a>, which have special modes of operation compared to other European programs and funds. We advise all interested readers to explore them further on the respective links.<\/span><\/p>\n As these are central issues at the European level, The CAP and agricultural support measures are the subject of continuous debate and have experienced various <\/span>moments of reform<\/span><\/a>: with a view to modernizing the sector (1970), rebalancing supply and demand (1984), providing direct support to farmers (1992), integrating rural development dynamics (1999), and greater integration of environmental and social aspects (2013).<\/span><\/p>\n In recent years, a new CAP reform process has been initiated, which has not yet been completed.<\/span><\/p>\n As explained in the chapters of the Guide devoted to the <\/span>\n EAFRD<\/span>\n<\/a> and the <\/span>\n EAGF<\/span>\n<\/a>, we are now (period 2021-2022) in a <\/span>\n transitional phase<\/span>\n<\/a> in which the rules of the previous programming cycle are still being applied, pending the entry into force of a “New CAP” from 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n The introduction of a “transitional phase” was necessary because of the complexity of the issue and the diversity of views among the different parties involved. Regulations for the “New CAP” were not approved until December 2021, one year after the start of the current programming period. The “New CAP” also requires the formulation of national plans, which form the strategic basis for it. They <\/span>were presented<\/span><\/a> to the Commission in December 2021, which should have approved them by June 30. On March 31, the commission shared the <\/span>\n his comments<\/span>\n<\/a> regarding the Italian Plan (no less than 244 points, outlined in a <\/span>\n 40-page document<\/span>\n<\/a>). It is expected in the coming months to finalize the<\/span>\n current draft<\/span>\n<\/a> and its subsequent approval.<\/span><\/p>\n Therefore, the “New CAP” will kick off in January from next year. It will cover the period 2023-2027 and include some major innovations in the use and organization of funds.<\/span><\/p>\n First of all, the “New CAP” provides for a single <\/span>\n National Strategic Plan of the CAP<\/span>\n<\/a>, which gives consistency and regulates the use of EAFRD and EAGF funds in each country, based on its organizational and territorial specificities. In the case of Italy, as much as the overall programming of agricultural and rural funds will be defined at the national level, regions are expected to maintain a central role in planning and managing specific interventions, as Managing Authorities for the funds in their local organisations.<\/span><\/p>\n At a general level, the “New CAP” also includes new objectives, a greater focus on the environment, competitiveness, small producers, simplification and alignment of procedures, social and labor aspects, and sector specificities.We have discussed these in the pages on <\/span>EAFRD<\/span><\/a> e <\/span>EAGF<\/span><\/a> and more information can be found in the links offered in the next section.<\/span><\/p>\n At the Italian level, the <\/span>\n draft strategic plan<\/span>\n<\/a> (more than 1,500 pages long) is summarized in two short presentations, which we identified as quite clear and comprehensive in dealing with, respectively <\/span>\n the structure<\/span>\n<\/a> e <\/span>\n its contents<\/span>\n<\/a>. We resume its essential numerical terms below.<\/span><\/p>\n\nAgriculture in Europe: one third of the EU budget and a “hot” topic<\/b><\/h2>\n
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A period of newness: the transition period (2021-2022) and the “New CAP” (2023-2027) <\/b><\/h2>\n
What changes with the “New CAP” and the draft National Strategic Plan.<\/b><\/h2>\n