NGOs take relaxation of CAP green rules to EU’s administrative watchdog

1 month ago 12

NGOs ClientEarth and BirdLife Europe presented on Wednesday (24 July) a complaint to the EU Ombudsman over the European Commission’s decision to relax some of the environmental requirements under the bloc’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

In March, after a wave of farmer protests rocked the bloc, the EU executive proposed a “simplification package” to reduce the administrative burden of the agricultural policy.

The package came into force on 25 May and included changes to six of the nine Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions (GAECs) standards, on which CAP payments depend.

The two NGOs accuse the EU institutions of flouting the bloc’s rules by speeding up the legislative process and want the Ombudsman, Emily O’Reilly, to assess whether there was maladministration in the way the EU executive prepared the proposal.

“The Commission omitted to carry out any kind of impact assessment or otherwise demonstrate that it had taken into consideration the best available evidence,” said a press release by the environmental groups.

A week after the Commission presented its proposal, the European Parliament used an “urgent procedure” to fast-track the adoption of the changes.

“Changes to significant legislation like this take years to pass – in contrast, these took just weeks,” said ClientEarth lawyer Sarah Martin.

“We’ve only ever seen this ‘emergency’ process invoked during COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine,” Martin added.

While the Ombudsman has no enforcement powers, it can make formal recommendations to EU institutions.

Birdlife Europe and ClientEarth also requested that O’Reilly urge the EU executive to issue a communication if it deviates from the bloc’s Better Regulation Guidelines when drafting future proposals.

A decision on the admissibility of the complaint is expected within a few weeks. If the Ombudsman opens an investigation, it can take between six and 18 months to reach a conclusion.