With a disbursement of 378.5 billion euros, the CAP for 2021-2027 is supposed to provide fair income support to farmers and ensure food security and livelihood security in rural areas. Furthermore, it aims to protect the environment from damage and climate change, which can also directly affect agricultural production, for example through extreme weather.
“The green approach of the common agricultural policy has improved. However, compared to before, we have not seen significant differences in the agricultural plans of the Member States,” said Nikolaos Milionis, the ECA member responsible for the audit. “We conclude that the climate and environmental ambitions of the Member States clearly lag behind those of the EU. We also believe that important elements for assessing green performance are missing.”
With the new CAP, more conditions had to be met to receive EU funds. EU countries also received more flexibility in applying certain rules and eco-schemes were added to the policy. These schemes reward practices beneficial for climate, environment, and animal welfare.
The auditors note that the CAP plans are not much greener than in the previous period. Moreover, the green impact of the plans may decrease further, since some conditions were relaxed after the farmers' protests in May 2024. For example, farmers no longer have to rotate their crops to improve soil quality; this was previously mandatory.
The Court of Auditors states that the CAP plans are not well aligned with the Green Deal. EU countries are not required to include the estimated contributions to the Green Deal targets in their national strategic agricultural plans. According to the auditors, the only measurable target is an increase in organic farmland.
The common agricultural policy (CAP) is an important policy area of the European Union and accounts for 31 percent of the EU budget for 2021-2027. It builds on plans established by each Member State. The CAP consists of two funds: the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD).