Citing the "valuable time and money" farmers lose to bureaucracy, European Commissioner for Agriculture Christophe Hansen welcomed a new EU agreement to streamline agricultural rules.

On Tuesday, the European Parliament and the European Council reached a provisional agreement to simplify the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), a move aimed at significantly reducing the administrative burden on farmers.

European Commissioner for Agriculture, Christophe Hansen, welcomed the decision, stating that excessive paperwork currently costs farmers an average of seven working days and between €1,230 and €2,740 per year. "Farmers spend too much time on paperwork, which costs them not just valuable time, but also money," Hansen said.

The newly agreed-upon measures are projected to generate substantial savings. Commissioner Hansen estimates they will save farmers approximately €1.6 billion annually in administrative costs, while national administrations are expected to save around €210 million per year.

A key element of the simplification involves the conditions for receiving direct aid. The Commissioner explained that the provisional agreement respects the core of the proposals first presented by the Commission in May. "We are making simpler rules for organic farmers and providing better support for smaller businesses, which suffer more than the large ones," he stated.

The reforms are also designed to offer farmers greater flexibility and to help small and medium-sized enterprises better utilise EU support. Notably, small farmers will see a shift to lump-sum payments of up to €50,000, eliminating the need to declare "every little detail."

While the agreement still requires formal validation by the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers, Hansen expressed confidence that it will come into force on 1 January 2026, allowing farmers to benefit from the simplifications starting in the next calendar year.