A resolution on the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020, adopted on 20 April by the European Parliament stresses that biodiversity should become a much higher political priority and should be better integrated into existing EU policies. In particular, it states that the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) should be a key tool for the conservation of biodiversity, alongside its role in food production and rural development. The forthcoming reform of the CAP, in conjunction with decisions on the next Multiannual Financial Framework, are key to halting the loss of biodiversity.

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At the Environment Council on 19 December 2011, the EU Environment Ministers decided to omit certain details concerning the third target which outlines the role of European agriculture in meeting the EU 2020 biodiversity targets. This came following strong opposition from several Member States led by the German Environment Minister, Norbert Rӧttgen, who claimed that this drafted text was too closely linked to talks on the future CAP and might falsely pre-empt the ongoing negotiations.

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