Farmer with fields sown to grass in last 5 years, due to become permanent pasture now, so concerned about CAP reform rules on permanent pasture.

PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, in collaboration with Wageningen University & Research centre, released a report which shows regional impacts of greening the CAP in line with ‘Option 2’ of the EC proposal of November 2011. A new tool for calculation of species richness in farming areas has been used, showing substantial biodiversity gains; however with large variations between regions. This suggests more regional differentiation is needed, also for greening of Pillar 1.

A new publication from the European Network for Rural Development (ENRD) presents a sample of interesting projects promoting ‘Green Growth’ through environmentally sustainable rural development actions in Europe’s countryside.

In late 2009, leading agricultural economists from all over Europe issued a declaration on ‘A Common Agricultural Policy for European Public Goods’. They proposed the abolition of market intervention and blanket income support to farmers, and outlined a more efficient, greener CAP. Since then, DG Agriculture, the European Parliament and many member states have adopted positions that closely stick to the status quo. Now a new declaration ‘For an Ambitious Reform of the Common Agricultural Policy’ has been published.

On October 19, the European Commission has finally released its conclusions on the budget review originally due for 2008/09. It compares poorly to the draft document that leaked quite exactly one year earlier. While the draft dedicated almost 3 pages to the CAP, this has shrunk to little more than one page in the official communication.

In the semi-official document from DG Agri which is currently circulating, there are certain elements which could be read as signs of hope for European farmers, and in particular for small farms, which have been forgotten by European policy in the past.

The leaked copy of the Common Agriculture Policy reform proposal proposes a few steps in the direction of a greener and more effective CAP but fails to provide a solid foundation that would allow the CAP to survive the ever growing budgetary pressures.

The undersigned European and Belgian organizations, that signed the European Food declaration published last March, jointly requested the EU Ministers for agriculture and Commissioner Ciolos who met in La Hulpe to definitively address the challenges and demands placed on consumers and farmers at the European and Global level.

Europe’s agriculture ministers urged to implement strong installation policy-Commissioner Ciolos to establish CAP framework with young farmers of CEJA.

The European Network of Nature Conservation Agencies (ENCA) have contributed a statement to inform the decision making process on the future of the CAP. Highlighting the successes of agri-environment in delivering biodiversity objectives and providing estimates of the scale of agri-environmental management needed to meet future biodi-versity needs.

NGOs make a strong call to reform the CAP by shifting substantial financial support to High Nature Value (HNV) farming. Launching views on how support could be directed towards low intensity farming in the EU, the four NGOs turn the spotlight on the urgent need to maintain specific farming systems.

A recent paper has been published on environmental governance in Hungary which focuses on rural development policies and social learning during the implementation of EU agri-environment policies.

This article introduces the first of a series of seminars organized by ECIPE and reformthecap.eu to help non-experts determine the facts.

The German Advisory Council on the Environment calls for a fundamental re-orientation of European agricultural policy in its statement on CAP-reform.

The UN Millennium Campaign Founder, Eveline Herfkens, will discuss how the CAP hurts the poor and undermines development efforts, during a seminar organized by the United Nations Millennium Campaign in Brussels on 29 April.

BirdLife recently participated in a panel discussion at an event organised by Deutsche Bank on global food security. According to BirdLife's analysis... Read in full

On December 11th 2008, a conference organised by CSO (BirdLife International’s Czech partner) and ProBio (the Czech organic farmers' association) addressed two... Read in full

Three fallacies are commonly encountered when talking about EU agricultural policies and the WTO’s Green Box for domestic support. It is argued... Read in full