3rd meeting of the EU CAP Network’s Assembly – report

The 3rd meeting of the EU CAP Network's Assembly took place the day after the ARIA 2024 ceremony, and European Commission - DG AGRI representatives praised the event for its successful role in highlighting the positive effects of the CAP implementation.

DG AGRI updated the audience on the progress towards the Vision for the Future of Agriculture and Food and the many inputs taken into account, as well as the link with the work on the next CAP. Other important policy updates were shared and prompted a lively question-and-answer session which allowed for dialogue and exchanges with the Assembly members. Key insights were shared on important upcoming EU-level developments such as the Rural Observatory, the new bioeconomy strategy and the revision of the forest strategy. DG AGRI also acknowledged and confirmed the important role of Smart Villages and EIP Operational Groups.

Updates from the Steering Group and Subgroups, provided by members of these governance bodies, were followed by a detailed presentation of the EU CAP Network's Strategic Framework, which was validated by the Assembly as a valuable tool to assess the EU CAP Network.

After an update on current and future activities of the EU CAP Network - and useful feedback from Assembly members - the participants engaged in an interactive session to discuss high-priority themes under each CAP General Objective (GO). The topics highlighted included risk management, investments and supply chain innovations (in relation to GO1 - Viable food production); water resilience, climate change adaptation, risk management, result-based interventions, and the need to reduce administrative burden (under GO2 - Sustainable management of natural resources and climate action); and demographic transitions, broader rural development, synergies with other funding mechanisms and socio-economic challenges (related to GO3 - Strengthening the socio-economic fabric of rural areas).