The European Court of Auditors has identified a number of systematic failures in the way in which cross compliance has been implemented since 2005.

While the outcome of the Health Check was regarded by many across Europe to play strongly to German interests, within the country opinions on the compromise vary widely.

In the second issue of IEEP's CAP2020 policy briefing, we examine the extent to which the EU Budget Review will provide an impetus for further reform, drawing on an analysis of the responses made by the 27 Member States to the European Commission’s recent stakeholder consultation.

On 9 December, Danuta Hübner, EU Commissioner for Regional Policy, presented the findings of a new report on the future challenges facing regions in Europe. The report provides input into the ongoing debate on the future of EU cohesion policy.

The French took the helm of the EU at a critical point in the development of the CAP. Taking over the six-month EU Presidency in July, French officials held the dual ambition of tying up one reform of the CAP and setting up the stall for the next. Whilst the French Presidency can take some satisfaction from concluding the Health Check, the parallel aim of reaching agreement on the longer term prospects for CAP reform has proved to be somewhat premature for a number of Member States.

From the perspective of the Spanish government, the traditional CAP objective of food security remains in place, although there is an increasing acknowledgment of the need to address social and environmental values too. In the future, agricultural policy will have to respond to public demands linked to maintenance of landscapes, conservation of natural resources and biodiversity, food safety and sustainability.

There are two articles below. The first presents an overview of the Finnish government's position on the future reform of the CAP. The second, older, article reviews the position the government adopted during the CAP Health Check negotiations in 2008.

Political agreement on the CAP Health Check was finally reached on Thursday 20 November after a long night of negotiations. In this briefing, we analyse the key outcomes.

This is one of four briefings written by IEEP to analyse the outcomes of the 2008 CAP Health Check. This briefing examines the changes to cross compliance, and examines the potential implications for the the EU's environmental baseline.