If Irish voters deliver a 'yes' vote in the referendum on the Lisbon Treaty taking place today, then the role of the European Parliament is likely to become increasingly important in the CAP decision making process. A recent report by IEEP provides an overview of some of the new EP committees.

The budget has succeeded in providing continued and stable funding as well as avoiding placing additional financial burdens on Member States, in a year characterised by significant economic turbulence.

Talks held in Växjö, Sweden, at the recent informal meeting of EU agriculture ministers, focused on the theme of 'agriculture and climate change'. Member States emphasised the need for an increase in support for research and development, although no legislative proposals were put on the table.

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.

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 Danish Presidency of the EU began on 1 January 2012 outlining four principal themes for the forthcoming six months: 'A responsible Europe; a dynamic Europe; a green Europe; and a safe Europe’. In terms of the CAP reform discussions, the Danish EU Presidency and the Danish Minister for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, Mette Gjerskov, have stressed the need for both a green and market-oriented CAP.

The Commission published its Legal Proposals for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) after 2013 on 12 October 2011. This is the first time that decisions on CAP reform have involved the European Parliament as well as the European Council under the ordinary legislative procedure. As such there is considerable uncertainty as to how long the process of negotiation and reaching agreement will take.

Today’s proposals from the Commission on the future CAP could have represented a major step towards improved environmental management across the EU, but in practice they leave major doubts over how much really will be delivered. Bold ambitions to green the CAP have become diluted by a focus on increasing the legitimacy of direct payments to farmers - at the expense of measures capable of maximising the delivery of environmental public goods. One of the reasons for this is that the new green payments under Pillar 1 have to be applicable in all parts of the EU and paid annually. This creates real challenges for sustaining substantive environmental improvements over time.

The leaked CAP proposals have sparked initial reactions by a number of policy stakeholders.