Green Deal: Overview

Agricultural policy is handled by the European Union directly and European farmers are expected to maintain the highest safety, environmental and animal health and welfare standards in the world. Given these high standards and, in order, for EU farming (an industry which supports 22 million people) to remain competitive, public support is needed. In exchange, consumers receive a consistent supply of safe, sustainably produced food at affordable prices.

In response to public demands for a sustainable agricultural sector, the EU launched the EU’s common agricultural policy (CAP) is a partnership between agriculture and society, and between Europe and its farmers. It aims to:

• support farmers and improve agricultural productivity, ensuring a stable supply of affordable food;
• safeguard European Union farmers to make a reasonable living;
• help tackle climate change and the sustainable management of natural resources;
• maintain rural areas and landscapes across the EU;
• keep the rural economy alive by promoting jobs in farming, agri-foods industries and associated sectors.

© European Union, 2021

© European Union, 2021

On 1 June 2018, the European Commission presented legislative proposals on the common agricultural policy (CAP) for the period 2021-27. Due to ongoing negotiations between the European Parliament and the Council of the EU, the provisional start date of the proposed CAP reform has been pushed back to 1 January 2023.

The Commission's proposals aim to foster a sustainable and competitive agricultural sector that can contribute significantly to the European Green Deal, especially with regard to the farm to fork strategy and biodiversity strategy. In particular, the proposals focus on:

• securing a fair deal and a stable economic future for farmers;
• setting higher ambitions for environmental and climate action;
• safeguarding agriculture’s position at the heart of Europe’s society.

In order to achieve these broad goals, the Commission has set out nine specific objectives:

Key information links:

Future of the common agricultural policy - Proposals from the European Commission will refresh the common agricultural policy, providing strengthened support for farmers and rural areas in the years to come.

The common agricultural policy at a glance

European Commission assessment of the CAP through the common monitoring and evaluation framework (CMEF).

Assessment of efficiency through CAP indicators.

Legislation for CAP

Legal basis for CAP is established in the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union.

The following 4 regulations set out the different elements of the CAP work:

• rules for direct payments to farmers (EU regulation 1307/2013);
• a common organisation of the markets in agricultural products (EU regulation 1308/2013);
• support for rural development (EU regulation 1305/2013);
• financing, management and monitoring of the common agricultural policy (EU regulation 1306/2013).

Transitional regulation (Regulation (EU) 2020/2220), will remain in force until the new framework of CAP strategic plans is implemented (due to begin on 1 January 2023).

The common agricultural policy is managed by the European Commission's department for agriculture and rural development. It can adopt delegated and implementing acts to implement the common agricultural policy.