Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/148 of 21 January 2026 amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1173 laying down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to the integrated administration and control system in the common agricultural policy

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 2 December 2021 on the financing, management and monitoring of the common agricultural policy and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 (1), and in particular Article 75 thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Article 69 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 provides that Member States are to require the submission of an application by means of the geo-spatial application as regards the aid for the area-based interventions referred to in Article 65(2) and implemented under their CAP Strategic Plans.

(2) Regulation (EU) 2025/2649 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2) inserted a new Article 70a of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 as regards the quality assessment of the identification system for agricultural parcels, of the geo-spatial application system and of the area monitoring system. The three quality assessments are merged into one quality assessment. Therefore, Article 1(a) and Article 2 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1173 (3) should be amended to reflect this merging of the quality assessments.

(3) Article 8(3)(f) of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1173 provides that the geo-spatial application is to contain, where relevant, information on the use of plant protection products for parcels under interventions for sustainable and reduced use of pesticides under Articles 31 and 70 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 of the European Parliament and of the Council (4) and that Member States may decide to use that information in respect of the requirement of record-keeping of plant protection products laid down in Article 67(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council (5).

(4) Based on the experience gained in the first years of the implementation of the current geo-spatial application, Member States and farmers consider that requirement as an additional burden, as there is already an obligation on them to keep records of the use of plant protection products pursuant to Article 67(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009. Therefore, for simplification purposes, the obligation laid down in Article 8(3)(f) of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1173 should be deleted.

(5) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee on the Agricultural Funds and the Common Agricultural Policy Committee,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1173 is amended as follows:

(2) Article 2 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 2 Quality assessment report

(3) In Article 8(3), point (f) is deleted.

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

It shall apply from 1 January 2026.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 21 January 2026.

For the Commission The President Ursula VON DER LEYEN

(1) OJ L 435, 6.12.2021, p. 187, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/2116/oj.

(2) Regulation (EU) 2025/2649 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 December 2025 amending Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 as regards the conditionality system, types of intervention in the form of direct payment, types of intervention in certain sectors and rural development and annual performance reports and Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 as regards suspensions of payments, annual performance clearance and controls and penalties (OJ L, 2025/2649, 31.12.2025, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2025/2649/oj).

(3) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1173 of 31 May 2022 laying down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to the integrated administration and control system in the common agricultural policy (OJ L 183, 8.7.2022, p. 23, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2022/1173/oj).

(4) Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 2 December 2021 establishing rules on support for strategic plans to be drawn up by Member States under the common agricultural policy (CAP Strategic Plans) and financed by the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) and by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and repealing Regulations (EU) No 1305/2013 and (EU) No 1307/2013 (OJ L 435, 6.12.2021, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/2115/oj).

(5) Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market and repealing Council Directives 79/117/EEC and 91/414/EEC (OJ L 309, 24.11.2009, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2009/1107/oj).