The European Commission approves Spain's proposed amendment to the CAP strategic plan

The European Commission has approved the amendment to the Strategic Plan for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) 2023-2027 requested by the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food with the aim of improving its application and benefiting the interests of the Spanish agricultural sector. The approval is contained in Implementing Decision 2023ES06AFSP001 of 14 August.

The amendment is the result of the agreement reached between the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Spanish regional governments after a process of intense dialogue in which the sector's professional organisations also participated.

The proposed amendments allow for certain simplification and flexibility measures to be introduced, which complement the measures already introduced in 2024 and which aim to ensure optimal implementation of the strategic plan, both in terms of direct aid and rural development measures.

The aim of the amendments affecting the implementation of the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF), is to recognise agrivoltaic systems, make the application of eco-schemes more flexible and simplify intervention in the fruit and vegetable and wine sectors.

The main new features include recognising agrivoltaic systems as areas that are potentially eligible for CAP support, provided that the priority nature of the agricultural activity is maintained. This measure responds to the need to promote sustainable models of agricultural and energy production and offers farmers new opportunities for revenue diversification without compromising the agricultural use of the land.

In addition, two amendments to the eco-regimes have been introduced to facilitate the implementation of the eco-regimes. Thus, the requirement that, in woody crops, the summer ground cover must occupy 20% of the free canopy width has been removed. For mixed farms - those with at least two of the following land types: irrigated arable land, rainfed arable land or permanent crops - a uniform 7% requirement has been set for biodiversity areas.

Some adjustments have also been made to the indicators for the sectoral interventions relating to fruit and vegetables and wine in order to improve their implementation and budget execution.

With regard to the EAFRD, some adjustments have been made to the financial allocation, as well as to the design and scheduling of certain interventions.

In order to implement the agreed amendments, it will be necessary to introduce changes to the Royal Decrees that regulate the management and control system for CAP aid, basic income support and the system of penalties and sectoral intervention for wine and fruit and vegetables so that the measures can definitively enter into force on 16 October 2025, in time for the 2026 CAP aid applications.

This is the first amendment to the CAP Strategic Plan and a second one is planned, the only objective of which will be to integrate those measures that are still in place from the rural development programmes for the previous period (2014-2022).

Non official translation