France and Germany have established a new working group on the future of the CAP post-2013. The working group, which intends to engage with other Member States, will hold its first meeting in September with initial positions on the future of the CAP to be put forward prior to this.

The European Forum for Nature Conservation and Pastoralism is organising a conference on 'High Nature Value (HNV) farming - State of play, stakes and prospects' in France on 8 October, with the support of the French Ministries of Agriculture and Environment.

The Czech Presidency came to end last week with several Member States refusing to sign up to conclusions on the future of the CAP, in a re-run of the French experience. However, Communications on product quality policy and retargeting aid in Less Favoured Areas proved less controversial, whilst the 'dairy crisis' remains on the EU agenda.

The Swedish Presidency of the EU, which starts on 1 July, has identified two main priorities related to agriculture, namely the relationship between agriculture and climate change and animal health and welfare. In addition, discussions on the future of the CAP beyond 2013 look set to continue informally.

The need for CAP expenditure (currently more than 40% of the total EU budget) to be justified and effectively targeted – given competing spending priorities such as competitiveness and R&D in line with the Lisbon Agenda – was the theme of a recent conference held in Brussels.

On 23 June, the German Marshall Fund of the United States is hosting a half day conference in Brussels entitled 'From the CAP to Competitiveness: The Common Agricultural Policy and the European Budget'.

A recent report by IEEP assesses the influence of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) on livestock and feed production. The study then explores policy options for promoting more sustainable forms of livestock production, including through reform of the CAP both in its current form and in the longer term (post-2013).

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.

In this new CAP2020 Member State Reform Profile, the position of France on further reform of the CAP is discussed. The French Government's position is characterised by a kind of ambiguity. On the one hand, it is in favour of retaining the CAP largely in its current form after 2013, yet on the other it recognises that a post-2013 CAP needs to be re-legitimised.

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.