Swedish Institute for European Policy Studies: European Policy Analysis – ‘Sustainable Agriculture’

The ‘greening’ of direct payments is a cornerstone of the Political Agreement of 26 June 2013 on CAP reform. Payments for agricultural practices beneficial for the climate and the environment will account for 30 per cent of national ceilings allocated to each Member State and, importantly, such practices will be integrated into ‘production agriculture’ which will remain the focus of Pillar 1. Accordingly, the reformed regime would seem to exhibit characteristics consistent with the emerging agricultural policy paradigm of ‘sustainable intensification’.

This paper will consider the drivers behind this element of the reform package and examine the legislative framework which is evolving to secure its implementation. In addition, it will seek to assess the extent to which the ‘greening’ of direct payments does indeed conform with broader notions of ‘sustainable intensification’, both at a conceptual level and in terms of practical application.

Publications and outputs

• European Policy Analysis