Common monitoring and evaluation framework

The CMEF at a glance

The European Commission has set up the common monitoring and evaluation framework (CMEF) to assess the performance of the 2014-20 common agricultural policy (CAP) and improve its efficiency. A transitional regulation was introduced extending most of the 2014-20 CAP rules until the end of 2022.

Monitoring and evaluation results generate valuable information. They:

• provide a sound analytical basis for future policy design;
• help in setting policy and programme objectives, and are then used to measure how these objectives are met in the long term;
• contribute to the accountability of public spending, playing an important role in responding to citizens’ concerns and questions regarding the use of taxpayers’ money.

To ensure proper monitoring and evaluation, the political objectives must be related to the planned measures. The CAP objectives are:

• viable food production, with a focus on agricultural income, agricultural productivity and price stability;
• sustainable management of natural resources and climate action, with a focus on greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity, soil and water;
• balanced territorial development, with a focus on rural employment, growth and poverty in rural areas.

The monitoring and evaluation framework for the common agricultural policy 2014–20

Monitoring

The monitoring element of the CMEF provides key information on the implementation of the CAP. The Commission monitors today’s developments in agricultural markets, rural development and the use of CAP funds.

A number of indicator types were defined to support the assessment of the CAP's performance.

• Context indicators describing general information relevant to the policy (such as the amount of agricultural land available or information on the average age of farm managers);
• Income support and market measure output indicators, which provide information on things like the number of beneficiaries of CAP income support;
• Output indicators monitoring EU policies on rural development, for example, such public expenditure on investment;
• Results indicators for the income support elements of the CAP, measuring the direct and immediate effects of interventions (such as the percentage of farmers' income which came from income support);
• Rural development results indicators assessing the effect of rural development policy, such as preventing soil erosion and improving soil management. Most of these indicators are also target indicators. In addition, rural development complementary result indicators aim to assess the net effect of CAP intervention (2021 updates);
• Target indicators used to set quantified objectives at the beginning of the programming period for the rural development policy (some of which correspond to result indicators);
• Impact indicators measuring the impact of policy interventions in the long term, ;and when there are effects beyond the immediate period (some of which are also included in the context indicator set).

The selected indicators are presented visually and interactively in the dashboard by theme, including farming income support, climate change and air quality, market orientation and organic production.

The Commission provides an annual update of data (subject to availability) for a set of context indicators that reflect aspects of the general trends that are likely to have an influence on the implementation, achievements and performance of the CAP.

Related information

Annual data set of context indicators

Evaluations and Studies

Within the CMEF, evaluation is a tool to assess the impact of policy interventions. It provides evidence for decision-making and improves the effectiveness, utility and efficiency of CAP interventions. It also contributes to improved transparency, learning and accountability.

Evaluations of the measures related to income support for farmers, assistance for complying with sustainable agricultural practices, and market support are carried out by independent external contractors. This includes research bodies, universities and consultancy firms, who operate under the responsibility of the Commission on the basis of a multiannual evaluation plan. Contracts are established through a public tendering process. Tender notices and calls for tender are published on the platform tenders electronic daily.

The purpose, scope and timing of each evaluation is set out in evaluation roadmaps, which are open to feedback from citizens.

For the rural development programmes, evaluations are carried out by EU countries. The Commission produces syntheses of the ex-ante and ex-post evaluations prepared by the countries.

To ensure that evaluations are firmly embedded in the policy making process and that established benchmarks are met, the Commission has prepared guidelines and a toolbox for better regulation, outlining requirements and best practices for evaluations of the CAP.

The reports and findings of evaluations are listed in six categories:

• farmers and farming
• environmental and climatic sustainability
• rural areas
• research, innovation and technology
• products and markets
• regulation and simplification.

CMEF reports

The Commission publishes reports on the implementation of the CMEF and the results assessing the performance of the CAP.

The first report on the monitoring and evaluation of the CAP for the 2014-20 period was presented to the European Parliament and the Council of the EU in 2018 (COM/2018/790 final) and is completed by the second report published in December 2021.

Towards the PMEF

On the 6 December 2021, Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing rules on support for CAP Strategic Plans was adopted. This regulation establishes the performance monitoring and evaluation framework (PMEF), which applies for the CAP from 2023 until 2027.

The PMEF supports the shift in policy focus from compliance with rules to performance and results. This new performance-based delivery model uses a set of common performance indicators.

This set of common performance indicators includes:

• output indicators, which will be used for monitoring the implementation of the CAP;
• result indicators, which will be used to monitor EU countries’ progress towards pre-set targets;
• context and impact indicators, which will be used to assess the overall policy performance against CAP objectives.

Further guidance on how to plan and report output and results indicators is provided in the cover note.

On the 6 September 2022, Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1475 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of the evaluation of the CAP Strategic Plans and the provision of information for monitoring and evaluation was adopted. This regulation establishes a set of common rules to collect data which will be used to perform the monitoring and evaluation of activities during the CAP implementation period from 2023 until 2027.

The DME is a fundamental component of the PMEF and the performance-based delivery model. Five types of data are collected in the framework of the DME:

• disaggregated data on interventions and beneficiaries (DIB), i.e. the data underlying the Annual Performance Report;
• the ratio of permanent grassland established each year pursuant to Article 48(2) of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/126;
• data on interventions in certain sectors, referred to in Title III, Chapter III, of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115;
• data on European Innovation Partnership (EIP) operational groups, referred to in Article 127(3) of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115;
• data on local action groups (LAGs) and their activities for LEADER as defined in Article 3, point (15), of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115.

Further guidance on how to collect and report the different types of data is provided in the following documents:

 

The following rules govern the CMEF for:

• the setting up the common monitoring and evaluation framework (see Article 110 of Regulation (EU) 1306/2013)
• the application of the CMEF (Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 834/2014)
• the monitoring and evaluation elements of the European structural and investment funds (ESIF) (Regulation (EU) 1303/2013)
• the monitoring and evaluation of the rural development policy (Regulation (EU) 1305/2013, Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 808/2014)

The following rules govern the PMEF for:

• the setting up the performance monitoring and evaluation framework (see Article 128 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115)
• the calculation of output and result indicators (Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/2290)
• the evaluation of the CAP Strategic Plans and the provision of information for monitoring and evaluation (Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1475)