Blog by Monica Gamba, Principal Consultant for Agri-Food, Fisheries and Animal Welfare
Following the first two Omnibus packages, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, Christophe Hansen, unveiled the third Omnibus on Agriculture on May 14, 2025. The package of measures aims to simplify the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) basic acts, targeting farmers and national administrations on the basis of feedback from stakeholders and member states. The proposal is a key deliverable of the Vision for Agriculture and Food presented in February 2025 and follows up on the 2024 set of targeted adjustments to the CAP legal framework.
Generally, the package of amendments to the CAP Strategic Plans’ basic legislation focuses on additional simplification of on-farm requirements, better recognition of diverse farming practices, especially organic farming, streamlined support for small and medium-sized (SMEs) farms, measures to boost competitiveness, including access to financial tools, and increased member states’ flexibility in managing their CAP Strategic Plans.
In terms of specific provisions, the proposal introduces a number of changes to the CAP regulations in several realms:
- Direct Payments – The proposal aims to increase the maximum possible lump-sum payment – that is, a single, annual disbursement – for participating farmers to 2500 EUR.
- Eco-schemes & Good agricultural and environmental conditions (GAECs) – The text allows member states to exclude GAEC 2 (peatlands and wetlands) from the baseline of eco-schemes and GAECs. Moreover, annual payments per livestock unit are foreseeable for the conversion or maintenance of organic farming practices. Other annual payments are possible for commitments improving farming practices related to apiculture.
Under the conditionality system, GAEC 1 for permanent grassland becomes more flexible by doubling (10%) the allowed decrease in the ratio of permanent grassland compared to the reference year. GAEC 4, on protecting river courses against pollution and run-off, should also be clarified to better align the definition of water courses on the basis of the national definition; it should now include smaller rivers.
Certified organic farms will automatically be considered as meeting some of the EU’s environmental requirements for funding.
- Sectoral intervention – The proposal plans to expand enhanced support for farmers in the fruit and vegetable sectors, hence reinforcing the farmers’ position in those two supply chains.
- CAP strategic plans – The proposal states that approval from the Commission should be required only for strategic amendments of CAP Strategic Plans, leaving more flexibility for member states in adapting the Plans. It also introduces a date of effect for EAGF-related amendments, although an opinion from the monitoring committees will be required.
Regarding CAP data and governance, the proposed provisions would require each member state to “designate one authority responsible for drawing up and implementing a roadmap to achieve and maintain interoperability and seamless exchange of data.”
- Annual performance clearance & report – The text proposes a discontinuation of the annual performance clearance to “ease the administrative burden upon member states”. A possible retroactive application is left to the co-legislators to discuss. The annual performance report is also simplified and time limits amended.
Attention was also paid to enhancing crisis management tools for farmers affected by natural disasters or animal diseases. When it comes to checks and controls on farmers, the Commission introduces the objective of “one control per year” for member states to ensure.
Finally, a new simple funding option offering up to €50,000 as a lump-sum to help improve the competitiveness of small farms is introduced. On the matter of digitalisation, the principle “report once, use multiple times” outlines the objective for farmers to only submit their data once.
Although an impact assessment was not compiled due to the “urgency” of the matter, the Commission included a Staff Working document accompanying the proposal outlining main impacts and cost-saving estimates based on available data.
Secondary legislation roadmap
Along with this initiative, the European Commission is foreseeing a revision of the CAP secondary legislation, in addition to clarifications and other supporting actions for member states. It will include:
- simplifying additional areas other than CAP (Q4 2025), including organic farming (Q2 2025 onwards)
- limiting the Area Monitoring System quality assessment only to monitorable eligibility conditions (Q4 2025)
- extending the deadline for decisions on transfers between CAP funds (21 May 2025)
- reducing control burden linked to checks on the eligibility of hemp for direct payments (Q3 2025)
- reducing the administrative burden generated by the obligation to report the use at parcel-level of plant protection products (PPPs) in the geospatial aid application (Q4 2025)
The future CAP-2027 will build upon the experience of the current simplification package for a more streamlined and implementable CAP. It also lays the foundation for increased digitalisation to reduce controls, reporting and administrative complexity. Further details on the future CAP post-2027 will be presented in Q3 of 2025.
As the co-legislators will soon start working on the proposal, which was generally well received by the organic sector in particular, new protests are expected in Brussels. The main concerns lie with the ongoing discussions on the future of the CAP, and in particular Pillar II on rural development, within the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2028-2034, to be proposed in July.
Background
The third Omnibus in Agriculture was announced as part of the Von der Leyen II Commission’s objectives to cut red tape, of which omnibus proposals are the main instrument when it comes to simplifying EU sustainability reporting obligations. Building on the analysis of Mario Draghi’s Report on the future of European competitiveness, the European Commission’s Competitiveness Compass, presented in January 2025, foresaw a full timeline of proposals and revisions up until 2026, and starting with the European Vision for Agriculture and Food. Overall, the Commission’s mandate aims at a 25% reduction in administrative burdens, and at least 35% for SMEs.
Related Content:
The Third Omnibus in Agriculture builds directly on the Vision for EU Agriculture and Food, presented earlier in 2025. To understand the broader strategy driving this simplification package and the future direction of the CAP, we recommend reading our deep dive here.