Assessing simplification of the CAP for beneficiaries and administrations
This report summarises the conclusions of the Good Practice Workshop that took place in Budapest on 7-8 November 2024 gathering 91 participants from 26 Member States.
- 2023-2027
- Cross-cutting impacts
Simplification is subject to specific attention in CAP Strategic Plans (CSPs). According to the Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 of the European Parliament and the Council, when designing CSPs, Member States were expected to explain how their interventions and elements common to several interventions contribute to simplification and the reduction of administrative burden for final beneficiaries.
The Workshop on ‘Assessing simplification of the CAP for beneficiaries and administrations’, held in Budapest on 7-8 November 2024, focused on sharing Member States' experiences regarding assessments and studies on various aspects of simplification at both national and EU levels.
The two-day event aimed to enhance participants' evaluation knowledge, foster networking and share practical experiences in assessing CAP simplification in the context of CAP Strategic Plans, covering the perspectives of both beneficiaries and administrations.
The first day introduced the concept of simplification, its key components and insights from evaluations evaluating EU-level measures in Spain, Romania and Sweden. The second day presented preliminary findings from the EU level study on simplification and administrative burden for farmers and other beneficiaries under the CAP, set for publication in early 2025.
Participants examined simplification from the perspective of its different aspects, including costs and cost structures, the adoption of simplification measures, intervention design, as well as from the perspective of the different phases of programme design and implementation (preparation, application, implementation/reporting, and monitoring) and its different target groups, i.e. as administrations and beneficiaries.
The event underscored the need to simplify the CAP and reduce administrative burdens through regular assessments to improve policy design and efficiency.
Key messages from this Good Practice Workshop are:
- Simplification of the CAP, including reducing administrative burden, is an ongoing process that needs to be assessed to improve policy design and implementation.
- Understanding the key aspects of simplification and areas of burden is an important first step in the assessment.
- The assessment of simplification entails various methodological and governance related challenges, which need to be addressed.
- Applying quantitative methods where possible, combined with obtaining the views of key stakeholders, seems to be the best way forward given existing challenges.
- Establishing a communication and dissemination strategy, as well as an owner of each recommendation, can lead to longer-term policy improvements, notably before 2028.
- Overregulation should not be forgotten. The distinction between mandatory requirements of CAP legislation and additional ones not derived from the CAP legislation enables the assessment of potential gold plating to undertake corrective measures and reduce any unnecessary burden on administration and beneficiaries.
Author(s)
EU CAP Network
Resources
Documents
Report - Assessing simplification of the CAP for beneficiaries and administrations
(PDF – 3.23 MB – 34 pages)
