CAP simplification will be top of the agenda at next week’s meeting of EU Agriculture Ministers in Brussels.

The Council of Ministers will have an exchange of views on the state of play of the simplification of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

This is part of the EU’s overall strategy for better regulation to simplify and reduce EU legislation wherever possible.

In this regard, the EU institutions decided to look through what has been agreed in the recent CAP reform and see where improvements can be made in the short or medium term and also what can be done better next time.

The Commission is expected to make a presentation on its simplification agenda and on its follow-up to the Council conclusions adopted in May 2015.

International agricultural trade issues

Also at the meeting Ministers will be briefed by the Commission on the state of play on international agricultural trade issues.

The ongoing trade processes developed at bilateral, regional or multilateral level constitute important issues at stake for European agriculture.

Market Difficulties

The Council will also take stock of the implementation of the package of measures addressing the difficult situation of several agricultural sectors.

The €500 million worth measures were presented at an extraordinary Council in September 2015.

They were intended to help address difficulties in cash-flow faced by farmers, stabilise markets and improve the functioning of the supply chain.