In the run up to the announcement of the Commission’s proposals on the EU budget for 2014-2020, rumours abound that a large slice of Pillar 2 of the CAP, essential for delivering environmental management throughout the EU-27, may be sacrificed to avoid significant cuts to Pillar 1 direct payments to farmers.

In this IEEP CAP2020 Policy Briefing, we clarify the roles of Cohesion Policy and the CAP in supporting rural development, and present some of the arguments that might come into play regarding the future EU policy framework for supporting rural development.