A new report released by the European Environment Agency (EEA) highlights the upcoming CAP reform as an important opportunity to address the existing shortcomings of the agricultural sector in terms of biodiversity.

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.

Agriculture Ministers had a quiet final gathering under the Spanish Presidency in June’s Agriculture Council held in Luxembourg, where discussions focused on the reopening of negotiations between the EU and the Mercosur bloc, the authorisation of 6 genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and CAP simplification.

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.

The UK’s Committee on Climate Change has just released a report which recognizes the importance of the agriculture sector in achieving emissions reductions.

Agriculture Ministers met for two days of informal talks on 30 May – 1 June, in Merida, Spain, which afforded an opportunity for discussion over their respective positions ahead of the publication of the Commission’s Communication on a post-2013 CAP.

A new study has been published evaluating the impact that halting direct payments to farmers might have on the viability of farms in the EU-25.

The online public debate on the future of the CAP launched by Commissioner Mr Ciolos in April has been extended by one week to now end 11 June.

While the CAP reform debate is in full swing, the UK countries have been consulting on the structure and content of their future agricultural policies as part of the transition away from the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy.

30 actions to transform the Commission’s proposals into a genuine transition tool.

Just a few days before EU Agriculture Ministers meet for the informal Council in Vienna and on the basis of the preparatory questions sent by the presidency to the delegations, the authors of this blog post identify the key elements for securing vibrant rural areas in the future CAP.

Those of us with long memories of CAP reforms know that there can be many dramas, dead ends and diversions along the way. Nonetheless, there has been a discernible direction of travel for two decades or more.