In this IEEP CAP2020 Policy Briefing, we clarify the roles of Cohesion Policy and the CAP in supporting rural development, and present some of the arguments that might come into play regarding the future EU policy framework for supporting rural development.

The fortifications around the old CAP are being lowered and we are starting to witness the birth pangs of the new one. The leaked DG Agri Communication on the future of the CAP is not the most transparent paper and has been criticised from several different sides – not perhaps itself an unhealthy sign. However, beneath the sometimes conflicting signals there is a sense of clearer objectives than the present policy and some willingness to tackle the shibboleths that have constrained progress for so long.

In this briefing we examine the concept of public goods and analyse how it is currently being used in the debate. A clarification of the term is given and further insight is provided on how the principle may be applied to the CAP, and the tools required to deliver public goods from agriculture to society are assessed.

In this IEEP CAP2020 Policy Briefing, we review the future of the CAP in light of the upcoming appointment of a new Agriculture Commissioner and forthcoming Commission green paper, expected in autumn next year. We review the challenges faced in the creation of a CAP fit for 2020, and look at the implications of these for the future of EU agricultural policy.

In this CAP2020 Policy Briefing, written by IEEP, we examine some of the possible impacts of the economic downturn on the agricultural sector, and some of the implications for the policy environment. We analyse the way in which agriculture is being factored into the current set of economic recovery plans, and how comfortably the sector could sit within any future ‘Green New Deal’, promoted by some as providing the means to unite long term economic recovery with environmental protection. Ensuring the more environmentally sustainable use of agricultural land in the future, however, requires enough foresight to look beyond the more immediate threats borne by the downturn. From this perspective, we need to ensure that the future agricultural policy framework and budget are fit for responding to the increasingly urgent challenges that lie ahead, such as our ability to feed ourselves, the need to shift to a less carbon intensive economy, and to continue to enhance the protection of biodiversity and natural resources.

In this IEEP CAP2020 Policy Briefing, we examine the ways in which the CAP reform debate is being shaped by the EU Presidency, government and stakeholders in a range of reports, vision documents and think pieces. There is a broad consensus that the CAP should be reformed, however, there are differences in the arguments being mobilised to underpin the case for further reform. In particular, we examine the value of some of the concepts introduced by these documents - such as ‘public goods’ - for providing legitimate and operational objectives for a post-2013 CAP.

In the second issue of IEEP's CAP2020 policy briefing, we examine the extent to which the EU Budget Review will provide an impetus for further reform, drawing on an analysis of the responses made by the 27 Member States to the European Commission’s recent stakeholder consultation.

In the first issue of the IEEP Policy Briefing, we reflect on the fate of the proposals on modulation - one of the most contested issues in the CAP Health Check negotiations.

In this CAP2020 Policy Briefing, written by IEEP, we examine some of the possible impacts of the economic downturn on the agricultural sector, and some of the implications for the policy environment. We analyse the way in which agriculture is being factored into the current set of economic recovery plans, and how comfortably the sector could sit within any future ‘Green New Deal’, promoted by some as providing the means to unite long term economic recovery with environmental protection. Ensuring the more environmentally sustainable use of agricultural land in the future, however, requires enough foresight to look beyond the more immediate threats borne by the downturn. From this perspective, we need to ensure that the future agricultural policy framework and budget are fit for responding to the increasingly urgent challenges that lie ahead, such as our ability to feed ourselves, the need to shift to a less carbon intensive economy, and to continue to enhance the protection of biodiversity and natural resources.

In this IEEP CAP2020 Policy Briefing, we examine the ways in which the CAP reform debate is being shaped by the EU Presidency, government and stakeholders in a range of reports, vision documents and think pieces. There is a broad consensus that the CAP should be reformed, however, there are differences in the arguments being mobilised to underpin the case for further reform. In particular, we examine the value of some of the concepts introduced by these documents - such as ‘public goods’ - for providing legitimate and operational objectives for a post-2013 CAP.

In the second issue of IEEP's CAP2020 policy briefing, we examine the extent to which the EU Budget Review will provide an impetus for further reform, drawing on an analysis of the responses made by the 27 Member States to the European Commission’s recent stakeholder consultation.