The package of measures that we are presenting today is another important milestone in the delivery of our ambitious simplification agenda.
First, let me to take a step back and place them in a broader context.
Europe must urgently take decisive action to secure our long-term prosperity.
That imperative lies at the heart of the European Commission's competitiveness agenda.
We need to become more dynamic, innovative and productive to compete effectively in the world.
Simplification – or, put simply, cutting red tape – is a central element of building a competitive Europe.
The scale of the challenge is clear.
Today, regulation is seen by more than 60% of EU companies as an obstacle to investment.
And 55% of SMEs flag regulatory obstacles and administrative burdens as their greatest challenge.
These SMEs account for 99% of EU businesses altogether, including a large proportion of agri-businesses.
The sheer volume of regulatory demands is stifling innovation, deterring investment, and putting jobs at risk.
While I have been tasked with driving and coordinating work the Commission's work on simplification, each Commissioner is responsible for stress-testing the EU acquis under their respective portfolios.
The aim is to review the whole acquis by the end of the current mandate.
We have set out ambitious targets for all administrative costs: reducing them by 25% for all companies and 35% for SMEs.
This translates into cutting approximately €37.5 billion in annual administrative costs by the end of this Commission's mandate.
This work is already underway.
In February, we introduced our first two proposals to simplify EU rules in the fields of sustainability reporting, sustainability due-diligence, taxonomy and public investments.
A conservative estimate puts the annual savings stemming from these two packages at €6.3 billion.
But this was just the beginning.
The Commission's Work Programme for this year outlines a long list of proposals that will focus on simplification.
Today, we present our measures for the agricultural sector.
Next, we will come forward with further proposals targeting small mid-cap enterprises.
Later this year, we will introduce further packages, including for the defence and digital sectors.
But for now, let us zoom in on today's proposals.
We are all aware of the central importance of farming and the broader agri-sector for Europe's economy, autonomy and security.
This is especially true at a time of great and growing global uncertainty.
Therefore, it is essential that Europe's farmers benefit from rules that are simpler, more proportionate, and better tailored to their needs.
The Commission has engaged extensively with farmers' representatives and other stakeholders to identify where we can best target measures to address the significant challenges farmers face.
These consultations have informed the package of measures we are presenting today.
We are expanding the simplified payment scheme to substantially reduce administrative burdens linked to the application process for direct payments.
We are removing unnecessary layers of regulation to make it easier for farmers to understand and implement the rules on environmental requirements.
We are reducing pressure and burden on farmers linked to the controls and other on-farm visits, moving towards a one control per year principle.
We are harnessing the potential of digitalisation to reduce reporting burdens for farmers.
We are also reducing the administrative burdens for national administrations.
In short, we want to help our agricultural sector to concentrate on farming and not forms.
Taken together, we estimate that the measures contained in today's proposals will bring savings of up to nearly €1.6 billion per year for Europe's farmers and more than €200 million in savings per year for national administrations.
To conclude, today's package shows that we have already made a strong start in delivering our simplification agenda.
We are moving quickly and with purpose.
One could say, to borrow a farming term, that we are "taking the bull by the horns".
I hope that today's package of measures sends a clear message to Europe's farmers.
We hear you.
We value you.
We are committed to supporting you.
