Environment and the common agricultural policy

The EU's common agricultural policy (CAP) has, over several decades and through successive reforms, devoted increased attention to the environment. This has led to the current CAP having a 'green architecture', which includes both mandatory elements – to which farmers must adhere in exchange for a full amount of direct payments – and voluntary elements – bringing extra payments for farmers engaging in farming practices that go beyond the basic requirements. Mandatory requirements, also referred to as 'conditionality', include statutory management requirements laid out in different pieces of environmental legislation, but integrated into the CAP. They also include standards for good agricultural and environmental condition of land (GAECs) that, for instance, require crop rotation or diversification, establishment of buffer strips along rivers and lakes, or minimum soil cover in winter. The GAECs have been at the centre of farmer protests in several Member States in 2024 and were recently amended, reducing their ambition. The voluntary elements include eco-schemes: a major novelty of the current CAP. They offer farmers a top-up on direct payments if they engage in additional environmentally sound practices. Which practices exactly, depends on individual Member States, as they have a significant flexibility in their design. As a result, more than 150 eco-schemes exist across the EU, the most popular addressing soil conservation and biodiversity. The second voluntary element comprises rural development agri environmental schemes, the oldest environmental measures in the CAP. Also designed by the Member States, they compensate farmers for cost and income foregone as a result of engaging in environmentally friendly practices, continued agricultural activity in areas where farming is difficult, and restrictions in Natura 2000 areas. Voluntary elements also include green investments. Several studies warn that Member States have not been ambitious in implementing the CAP's environmental measures. It is claimed that states have used the flexibility granted them to define the exact requirements and voluntary measures in ways that have not led to significant change on the ground. Finding ways to motivate farmers to engage in practices that truly benefit the environment, while ensuring their economic sustainability, remains a major challenge for negotiations on the post 2027 CAP, particularly in the context of widespread farmer discontent.