Mariann Fischer Boel will retire as EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, when the current Commission’s mandate expires later this year. With no obvious successor apparent at this stage, the field to succeed her and guide the EU through negotiations on the future of the CAP post-2013 remains wide open.

IEEP recently attended an event organised by Notre Europe and Swedish Institute for European Policy Studies, where the the future of the CAP post-2013 was the main topic of discussion.

As expected, the current ‘dairy crisis’ dominated discussions at the September Agriculture Council, although no firm conclusions were reached. Other issues discussed at the meeting included CAP simplification, authorisation of GMOs and the state of play with WTO discussions.

Food security has been high on the agenda in the UK recently with the publication of documents by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. However, at present the policy implications remain largely unclear, within the CAP or nationally.

A recent report by DG Environment concludes that the abandonment of traditional management practices and a tendency towards more intensive agricultural practices has resulted in significant loss of EU biodiversity.

The Doha Round of WTO negotiations could have significant implications for the future of the CAP, assuming an agreement can be reached. A Working Paper by the Petersen Institute for International Economics outlines what's on the table as of August 2009.

A report for the European Parliament has been published which discuses the potential implications of the Doha round of WTO talks on the CAP. The report includes conclusions and recommendations about possible actions and changes to the CAP.

A report by the UK House of Lords on the EU Budget has criticised expenditure on the CAP and concludes by stating that 'in the light of the recession the distribution of the Budget in favour of agriculture is deeply frustrating'.

Following the first Agriculture Council meeting of its Presidency, Sweden has published a discussion document on 'climate change and agriculture' in preparation for the informal meeting of Agriculture Ministers in September. In addition, the Commission has also published a report on market conditions in the dairy sector.

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.