Today the Commission publishes one online research to gather the views of farmers directly from them, as it had announced in its proposals for reducing the bureaucratic burden they bear. The survey will last from March 7th to April 8th. Through short questions, available in all official EU languages, the Commission will gather valuable feedback to understand farmers’ main sources of concern. In addition, the research will help to identify the sources of administrative burden and complexity arising from Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) rules, as well as other food and agriculture rules, in terms of their implementation at national level and associated with them recording and reporting obligations. Preliminary results will be presented in mid-April.

By summer, the survey will have provided a clearer picture of the main bureaucratic obstacles farmers perceive and face. Its results will feed into a more detailed analysis expected to be published in autumn 2024 to clarify the sources of complexity facing farmers at EU and national level in relation to the CAP and other requirements and policies .

Athena Papakosta