This SAC Rural Policy Centre Briefing draws on the findings from an EU-funded project to highlight a range of measures that could be taken to ensure that farmland biodiversity concerns are addressed in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) at an appropriate scale to be effective. Farmers and their farming practices are needed to maintain and improve conditions for habitats and species of European farmland biodiversity concern.

This IEEP paper for the Land Use Policy Group (LUPG) sets out the key issues and questions that need to be considered for the establishment of a Sustainable Production Agenda for Europe and explores the implications of these issues for the development of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for the period 2013 – 2020.

This IEEP paper for the Land Use Policy Group's (LUPG) examines a range of transitional arrangements that could facilitate a shift in the basis of CAP payments away from the current system of support, towards one based on a rationale more focused on the provision of environmental goods and services.

This IEEP paper for the Land Use Policy Group's (LUPG) evaluates the case for using state intervention to reverse existing environmental degradation and deliver improvements, before focusing specifically on the rationale for intervening at the European level.

In December 2009 five farming and environmental NGOs came together with a proposal for a transformation of the CAP. During a six month consultation 19 responses to the Vision were submitted. These can be read here.

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.

The European Coordination Via Campesina make the case for a new CAFP that overcomes current dead-ends.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has released two new papers entitled “Review of evidence on drylands pastoral systems and climate change: Implications and opportunities for mitigation and adaptation,” and “Organic Agriculture and Carbon Sequestration: Possibilities and constraints for the consideration of organic agriculture within carbon accounting systems.”

A new paper on reform of the CAP from the the perspective of the organic movement has been published. The report questions the legitimacy of current Pillar 1 expenditure and suggests that a 'European agrarian model' is needed which draws on the principles of organic agriculture.

The Finnish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has published its vision for the CAP after 2013. The Ministry argues in favour of retaining the structure and level of funding of the CAP largely in its current form. The document suggests that all Member States should move towards a flat rate per hectare model for the Single Payment Scheme, which should be justified as compensation for the provision of public goods, without implying any fundamental retargeting of direct payments.

This 22 page Vision, published in October 2008, puts forward seven objectives for the CAP and four broad groups of policy measures to meet these objectives.

The Land Use Policy Group's (LUPG) Vision presents a set of principles that the agencies believe should underpin further reform of CAP.

In this 18 page discussion paper, published in November 2008, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) presents a Vision for a 'Common Environment and Rural Policy (CERP)' .

In this 27 page paper, published in June 2008, the European Landowners' Organisation (ELO) present a case for an 'EU food and environmental security policy'.

This short paper published in 2008, presents an approach to redefining agricultural policy through a 'three step concept'. The issue of co-financing is also explored.