The EU Commission has flagged up several issues to be addressed in the CAP. Initial proposals are due in the summer and may result in changes for the 2009 SPS year.
The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) seems to be in a state of perpetual revolution – no sooner has one reform been agreed then the next is being prepared. Currently, there are three separate exercises in the pipeline, planned to change the face of the CAP. At the most basic level is the ‘Simplification Exercise’. This is a relatively minor tidying up of legislation – its main on-farm effect may be simplification of the cross-compliance rules. The other two parts are the CAP Health Check and the Budget Review.
In addition to these, the individual CAP regimes for wine, and fruit and vegetables, are also being reformed. With wine, it is unlikely to affect many in the UK as it concerns its production rather than consumption. However, with the latter, we may see the end of fruit, vegetable and potato authorisations for 2008.
