The RECAP project team, in cooperation with the Research Executive Agency (REA), organised a productive Policy Session with invited officers from DG AGRI and DG GROW, DG CNCT, REA and the European Space Agency (ESA); the session was held at REA premises in Brussels on the 22nd of September 2017, aiming at:

• Informing policy officers involved in the CAP implementation and monitoring, about the project objectives and activities;
• Initiating a discussion to identify complementarities, seeking to develop synergies with initiatives and relevant policy actions by DGs and Agencies;
• Receiving input on the shape of things to come in the future CAP and the potential of the RECAP to anticipate changes in the Omnibus regulation and policy changes post 2020.

A total number of 17 EC officers attended the Session expressing great interest and actively participated in the open discussion.

The first part of the session, focused on the overall project presentation, the architecture of the project, its technical components, current and upcoming CAP implementation, as well as links of the RECAP with various EC policies and other EC projects, highlighting the potential of developing synergies within different EC initiatives.

The first/preliminary highly accurate results of the Remote Sensing component solutions of the RECAP on the automatic identification and control of Cross-Compliance rules, and benefits of using the RECAP platform led to many technical questions raised by DG AGRI representatives, and was the first step of a constructive discussion on the support of RECAP to the simplification of CAP controls.

More social and policy related remarks followed the first technically- oriented part of the open discussion. Digital divide, broadband issues and farmers’ acceptance to use ICT solutions were highlighted as considerable policy issues, which need to be on the focus of policy initiatives of the DGs involved (AGRI; CNCT). With particular focus on CAP monitoring, RECAP is seeking to develop synergies with other similar projects.

Indeed, RECAP can be a true focal point of the EC concerning CAP simplification and modernization, and there are already discussions about organizing a second event in the spring of 2018.

For more project information, please visit RECAP website: https://www.recap-h2020.eu/