Recital (5)

Article 13 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 requires Member States to ensure that all agricultural areas, including land which is no longer used for production purposes, are maintained in good agricultural and environmental condition. Member States are to set, at national or regional level, minimum standards for farmers and other beneficiaries for each good agricultural and environmental condition (GAEC) standard listed in Annex III to that Regulation, in line with the main objective of each of those standards as referred to in that Annex. The overall objectives of soil protection and soil quality pursued by GAEC standards 5, 6 and 7 are affected by many factors, such as soil type, choice of crops, climatic and weather conditions, and past and present land use and farming systems, such as organic farming which requires a different approach to certain operations. Experience shows that there could be situations where imposing certain requirements without due consideration for those factors, such as restrictions on tillage or obligations to sow during a specific period, may have a negative impact on certain soils or certain crops, and even risk going against the objective of soil protection. GAEC standard 9 imposes a ban on converting or ploughing permanent grasslands designated as environmentally sensitive in Natura 2000 sites. Experience has, however, shown that there may be exceptional situations where such environmentally sensitive permanent grassland is damaged, for instance by wild animals or invasive species, and appropriate measures to address such situations, including exceptions to the ban on ploughing of the areas concerned in order to restore such permanent grassland, may be necessary to ensure that the GAEC standard 9 requirements contribute to the protection of habitats and species.