The Commission could also publicly share its observations regarding the assessment of the targets proposed under the different CAP Strategic Plans. 3.4.2.     Structured dialogue and recommendations to Member States In addition to the on-going preparatory process, and in order to reinforce the strategic character of the implementation of the future CAP and guarantee that the future CAP Strategic Plans fully support the transition foreseen in the European Green Deal, a structured dialogue should be organised between the Commission and the Member States already in the preparatory phase of the CAP Strategic Plans (i.e. before the formal submission of the CAP Strategic Plans). In that context, the Commission – bringing in a range of relevant policy perspectives – will be ready to make recommendations based on its analysis of the situation of each Member State in respect of agriculture and rural development as seen through the prism of the nine CAP specific objectives, and taking into account the European Green Deal. Recommendations will pay attention to effectiveness of CAP measures and consistency with other policy instruments implemented by the Member States, with a view to achieving the specific objectives of the CAP. The incorporation of the recommendations in the CAP Strategic Plan would be part of the criteria that the Commission would use in the assessment to approve each of the CAP Strategic Plans. In the framework of this structured dialogue, particular attention will be paid to address the targets foreseen under the European Green Deal (Table 1) in the CAP Strategic Plans. In order to ensure that the Green Deal targets are appropriately reflected in the CAP Strategic Plans from the start, in this early stage of the planning process the European Commission will ask Member States to set explicit national values at the level of impact indicators for the key Union targets listed in Table 1, to show how they plan to contribute to the new EU ambition, thus indicating a clear direction of the efforts to be made at national level. The national values will take into account the efforts made over the years, the starting point and the potential for improvement, thus acknowledging in this desired collective effort, the specific situation of each Member State. Based on these values, the territorial diagnosis and the needs assessment, the Member States will then design, in their CAP Strategic plans, appropriate interventions and assess their expected use by farmers, so that the CAP can, in each Member State, contribute effectively to this new ambition. The European Commission will verify at the time of approval and modification of the CAP Strategic Plan the coherence with the aggregated Green Deal targets. Progress towards these Green Deal targets, at Member State level, would be monitored through the evaluation framework proposed for the future CAP. 3.4.3.     Ensuring overall sustainability for Coupled Income Support, sectorial programmes and promotion The range of instruments available for sectoral support under future CAP Strategic Plans provide for considerable opportunity to address Green Deal challenges particular to certain types of production or sectors. At the same time, within the context of the overall CAP 20

strategic plans, it must be assured that the schemes designed by Member States contribute to the overall sustainability objectives of the plan and the Green Deal. As regards Coupled Income Support, which must address specific difficulties by improving competitiveness, sustainability or quality of the sectors concerned, the future CAP’s new delivery model will oblige Member States to design this support based on the identified needs, in consistency with all the CAP’s specific objectives and with the other instruments. With this in mind, and taking into account past concerns expressed about coupled support from an environmental perspective, the Commission should carefully assess any proposed coupled support from the perspective of the need for overall sustainability. Similarly, the sectoral programmes must also be assessed from this perspective, to ensure coherence in strategic plans, including as regards nutrition and health. Indeed, Member States should grasp the opportunity to use sectoral programmes to contribute to Green Deal objectives, such as possibilities to promote consumption of fruit and vegetables or support climate adaptation and resilience. 3.4.4.    Farm Sustainability Data Network Taking into account the importance of sound data and farm advice in the achievement of ambition foreseen in the Green Deal, the Commission will propose legislation to convert its Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) into the Farm Sustainability Data Network with a view to also collect data on the Farm to Fork targets and other sustainability indicators, in full compliance with provisions on the protection of data privacy. The new network, based on the voluntary participation of farmers, will benchmark farm performance against regional, national or sectoral averages. Through tailored advisory services, it will provide feedback and guidance to both small and big farmers on best practices to improve their economic, environmental and climate performance, and link their experience to the European Innovation Partnership and research projects. This will improve the sustainability of participating farmers, including their incomes. 4.    CONCLUSIONS The Commission’s CAP reform proposal is compatible with the Green Deal and its associated strategies such as the Farm to Fork Strategy and the Biodiversity Strategy. It has the potential to accommodate the Green Deal’s ambitions. However, the capacity of the future CAP to accommodate the Green Deal’s ambitions depends on various aspects, ranging from a suitable share of the EU budget devoted to each pillar of the CAP to the key provisions of the Commission’s proposal, which need to be maintained in the final CAP legislation as agreed by the Council and the European Parliament. These include in particular:    an adequate “no backsliding” principle obliging MS in their CAP Strategic Plans to show an increased ambition than at present with regard to environmental- and climate- related objectives; 21

   an ambitious system of conditionality maintaining key standards (in particular for crop rotation, soil cover, maintenance of permanent grassland, agricultural land devoted to non-productive areas or features);    mandatory eco-schemes;    ring-fenced spending for the environment and climate of 30% of the rural development budget for each CAP Strategic Plan, excluding payments for areas with natural constraints, as well as the ring-fencing of the sectorial interventions;    data collection requirements and common data approaches between policies;    provisions to improve the position of farmers in the food supply chain. Certain improvements in the final CAP legislation would close the identified gaps and strengthen the final CAP legal texts to help achieve the ambitions of the Green Deal. These include:    minimum ring-fenced spending for eco-schemes and                   additional indications concerning agricultural practices that could be supported by eco-schemes;    integration of relevant elements of legislation on animal welfare and antimicrobial resistance in the CAP, as it is the case of Annex XI. Finally, the Commission could consider taking additional practical action to make implementation of the future CAP more efficient to help to achieve the ambition of the Green Deal. This could include:    creating a structured dialogue for preparation of CAP strategic plans, including by providing recommendations to each Member State in respect of the nine CAP specific objectives, before the draft CAP strategic plans are formally submitted; under this dialogue, Member States would be asked to address the new quantified Green Deal targets in their CAP Strategic Plans;    publicly sharing additional documents on how CAP Strategic Plans will be assessed as well as sharing observations regarding the assessment of the targets proposed under the different CAP Strategic Plans;    assessing coupled income support and interventions under sectorial programmes proposed in CAP Strategic Plans in light of its consistency with the need for overall sustainability;    proposing legislation to enlarge the scope of the current Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) in order to include sustainability indicators and strengthen its links with advisory services. 22