Latest from EU Member States

Czech Republic | PM Babiš’ Chickens Coming Home to Roost?

The Czech chicken industry is under the wing of a Godfather. The same man is also milking the domestic dairy sector and has the nation’s encased meats all sewn up. Or at least that was the case until he became Prime Minister. Now, with a confidential European Commission report concluding Andrej Babiš has a conflict of interest between his business and his political position, are his chickens coming home to roost?  […]

Main stories

Ensuring an environmentally aware CAP: A battle of measures

Payment for Environmental Services (PES) is an oft-mentioned concept in post-2020 CAP debates. But it tends to overshadow the agri-environment-climate measures (AECMs) which have played an important role in the CAP for the past 2 decades. Which is the best way of integrating environmental concern? Frédéric Courleux weighs up the debate.  […]

Latest from Brussels

Climate Extremes Cause CAP Greening Rollback

CAP greening changes have been announced by the EU Commission because of drought However, these moves have annoyed some as they involve the cancellation of measures supposed to help make farming more resilient and robust in the face of climate extremes. And what will happen next, once this emergency passes? […]

Latest from key partners

re:CAP | Risks and the Rural World

What do the most effective rural development policies look like? What role might risk management play in that? We speak to Christian Rehmer (BUND, Friends of the Earth Germany), Aurélie Catallo (Pour Une Autre PAC), Ulrich Jaspers, AbL and Die Verbände-Plattform and Ariel Brunner and Harriet Bradley (BirdLife).  […]

Latest from Brussels

re: CAP | What’s the deal with capping direct payments?

In part 2 of our re:CAP series we return to Christian Rehmer (BUND, Friends of the Earth Germany), Aurélie Catallo (Pour Une Autre PAC), Ulrich Jaspers  (AbL and Die Verbände-Plattform)  and Ariel Brunner and Harriet Bradley (BirdLife) to talk capping. What should be the level for capping and redistribution and what should be the criteria for that? […]

Latest from Brussels

Vested Interests Fight to Keep Control of Agriculture Reform

Greenpeace EU agriculture policy director Marco Contiero with this op-ed tells us that a little-known panel in the European Parliament will rule later this week on a procedural issue that could make or break the EU’s most expensive and arguably most environmentally destructive policy. The leaders of the Parliament’s different political groups will end a bitter row between MEPs over which committees should be given a meaningful role in CAP reform. […]