The report was presented last week to Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, and is expected to play a crucial role in reforms of the European Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) later this year.
Currently, about 80% of European agricultural subsidies go to just 20% of the largest agricultural enterprises, while smaller and medium-sized farms, which represent a large part of the sector, often have to make do with less.
The working group of European agricultural experts proposes to address this inequality by targeting subsidies to farmers' income, so that support reaches those who need it most, primarily small and medium-sized businesses.
Apart from the question of whether agricultural giants Ukraine and Moldova will soon be admitted as EU members, including their access to the free market, the current proposals mean that the existing CAP funding will largely disappear anyway.
The working group further advises decoupling environmental payments in the agricultural sector from income support. Environmentally friendly farming practices should be rewarded through separate payments, which would not come at the expense of income support for farmers who do not participate.
The working group also again places the Nature Restoration Law and the Soil Law on the EU agenda. The costs of these should not be covered by CAP agricultural subsidies but by a (new) separate fund.
Furthermore, calls are made for tailored emission targets for different agricultural sectors. These could vary by country, leading to an increasingly less uniform EU policy. Areas with a high concentration of livestock farming, such as the Netherlands and Catalonia, could be encouraged to voluntarily reduce their livestock populations.
The report calls for less bureaucratic red tape for farmers, allowing them to focus on their business rather than on filling out forms. More attention should also be given to support for young farmers who want to take over their parents' farms, and consumption of plant-based foods over meat and dairy should be encouraged.