A Commission proposal for a pesticide ban on areas set aside for nature protection was discussed at a meeting of EU agriculture ministers in Brussels on Monday 18 July, in the presence of Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan. The proposal for Ecological Focus Areas (EFAs) is just one of 15 measures the Commission will put forward as part of its CAP simplification drive. At the AGRI Council meeting, the Commission also present Ministers with its analysis of the first year of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) greening implementation process.In July 2016, 16 MEPs called on the European Commission to conduct a major review of the CAP through a Fitness Check. The MEPs’ letter follows calls for a Fitness Check from 115 environmental, social, and health NGOs and a group of leading food experts. The EEB and BirdLife Europe have published a short booklet ‘UnCAP the Truth – Spotlight on EU Farm Policy’.