Insights from our current Thematic Groups

Thematic Groups (TGs) are an important component of the EU CAP Network's activities aiming to assist in the implementation of the CAP Strategic Plans (CSPs). Composed of relevant stakeholders selected from across the EU, the current TGs are exploring issues relating to farming's economic vulnerability, the broader societal value produced by farmers and the practical challenges to the CAP’s simplification.

Future-proofing farming

The TG on Economic Vulnerability of Farming  (January-April 2025) aimed to review the drivers of farming's economic vulnerability, discuss the effectiveness of the current approaches to address it, and explore mechanisms that can help farmers respond to these challenges better.

The background paper elaborated for this TG analysed challenges faced by EU farmers and examined risk management and risk prevention mechanisms under the CAP that can help EU farming become more resilient.

At the first TG meeting (22 January), TG members identified current and emerging concerns and explored responses to the challenges presented by the economic vulnerability of farming.

In between the two ‘official’ TG meetings, in March TG members engaged in informal online discussions in which they developed proposals that could help address some of the issues around the economic vulnerability of farming. The discussion focused on four focus areas, based on the outcomes of the 1st TG meeting: preparedness and preventative actions; insurance and use of mutual funds; business growth through increased cooperation; and supporting the environment. The second TG meeting (8 April) presented encouraging visions of TG members on approaches that help tackle the economic vulnerability of farming in Poland, Italy and the Netherlands. TG members refined the work previously done and explored potential pathways to address the economic vulnerability of farming. A Highlights Report will be available soon on the event page.

All the TG outputs are collected on the Thematic Group page, and you can still follow social media updates using #EconomicVulnerability. 

Farmers’ contribution to society

The TG on Valuing Farmers’ Wider Contributions to Society is analysing the current narratives on farming, collecting experiences and good practices on how farmers are recognised at a national and European level, and exploring innovative ways to raise awareness and recognise the societal value of farmers’ work, to make farming a more attractive profession.

The first TG meeting (26 February) outlined existing narratives about farming, framed the significance of farmers’ work to society and discussed how to make the current discourse on farmers’ image mirror the reality. Through interactive group discussions, TG members analysed how the wider contributions of farmers to society can be better promoted in education, through self-promotion, communication and awareness-raising campaigns, awards and recognition programmes. The discussion touched upon the role of different stakeholders in improving the current narratives on farmers.

Two informal online meetings were organised in March and April to give TG members more time to discuss, respectively, ways to strengthen farmers' connections with society and how to rebrand farming as an attractive career choice for younger generations. The second TG meeting will be held on 6 May and will explore ways to help improve the public perception of farming, including through the CAP, as well as methods contributing to valuing farmers’ wider contributions, such as storytelling practices and policies supporting farmers’ promotion. A report of the meeting will be available on the event page, and the final outputs, including some proposals or recommendations, will be published on the TG landing page in the upcoming weeks.

Follow the conversation on #ValuingFarmers on social media to stay up-to-date about this TG.

Making simplification easy to implement

The TG on Effective Approaches for Simplification within the CAP is looking into the implementation of the CSPs and how certain aspects can be simplified with a new approach. The TG will also collect case studies and examples of simplification that can already be implemented in other Member States.

The background paper analysed the current status of the CAP implementation, the issues identified, and the potential responses to reduce the complexity of its execution.

The first TG meeting (2 April) built on information collected from CAP stakeholders as well as insights from studies on administrative burden and simplification for farmers under the CAP, and also examined other European Commission work on simplification. TG members discussed elements of the CAP’s design and implementation that can be a challenge when it comes to handling CAP applications/implementation, reporting requirements and controls and inspections /monitoring.

In-between meetings will be organised by the TG members in the next months. The second and final TG meeting will be held on 12 June.

Use the hashtag #CAPSimplification to follow the TG work on social media.

Stay in touch!

The webpage of the Thematic Groups on CAP implementation is updated on a regular basis and is the entry point to our thematic work. Check it regularly and follow @EUCAPNetwork on social media.

Live coverage of the TGs activities can be followed up using the hashtags #EconomicVulnerability, #ValuingFarmers and #CAPSimplification. To learn about the future Thematic Groups and be part of them, make sure you subscribe to the EU CAP Network newsletter to be informed as soon as applications are open for a new TG!