Highlights report - EU CAP Network's Steering Group - 3rd Meeting

The third meeting of the Steering Group took place on 17 October 2024, shortly after the publication of European Commission President Von der Leyen’s recent political guidelines and mission letter to the new Commissioner, which sets the future CAP for the next five years. The Chair, Mario Milouchev (DG AGRI), also reminded the audience of the importance of the Strategic Dialogue report (a crucial milestone in shaping a new EU agri-food policy that prioritises innovation and competitiveness as key drivers of sustainability).

The meeting provided updates on the EU CAP Network activities, including its recently published Annual Work Programme 2024-2025, and recent events such as the 4th meeting of the Forum on Best Practices in the Agri-Food Supply Chain, the Workshop on Promoting pollinator-friendly farming, and the Good Practice Workshop on Carbon Farming. The discussion also touched upon the importance of effectively communicating the Network's activities to stakeholders.

Steering Group members engaged in a session on the EU CAP Network Strategic Framework, a tool which provides a set of indicators used to assess the Network’s performance against its objectives. The meeting then focused on the upcoming proposed activities for 2025 and the next Annual Work Programme. Priority topics shall be discussed and further refined at the third EU CAP Network's Assembly on 5 December 2024. Then followed presentations on the European Commission (EC) report on the implementation of the Long-Term Vision for Rural Areas, ​published in March 2024, and on stakeholders' activities, which are presented in detail in the event report.