No. 34 The future of the Common Agricultural Policy 70 ANALYSIS AND PROSPECTIVE STUDIES CULTIVAR 1. CAP objectives: past and future 1.1 • Are the founding objectives of the CAP still relevant today? At EU and national level? • Are the objectives of the CAP public goods2? Do they require public intervention? To what extent is ensuring access to adequate food in terms of quantity and nutritional quality an essential public good? • What is the best way to achieve security of supply: domestic production with increased production potential, external agreements, definition of critical agricultural goods, guarantee of essential production factors (water, energy, etc.)? • Do you consider that there is a balance between the objectives of the CAP and EU trade policy? • To what extent do you consider the CAP to be a pillar of the European single market? • Is the concept of multifunctionality still useful? What areas and objectives should be pursued in this context? • What is your assessment of the CAP in terms of land use, the environment, climate and social issues? 1.2 • To what extent do you think it is possible to create synergies with cohesion policy? What is your view on the operationalisation of a Single Fund? • Are the European Commission's recommendations for the specific objectives of the CAP3 relevant in view of the current challenges? a) contribution to fair and sufficient income for farmers and their long-term competitiveness, including the farmers’ position in the value chain; b) improvement of attractiveness of the profession and foster generational renewal; c) enhancing climate action, ecosystem services provision, circular solutions, the conservation of biodiversity and natural resources, sustainable farming and improve animal welfare; d) improving resilience, farmers’ preparedness and ability to cope with crises and risks; e) enhancing the access to knowledge and accelerate innovation and the digital transition for a thriving agri-food sector. 2. Policy models The application of the CAP evolved from models of guaranteed prices/border protection/export refunds until 1992 to the current model since 2003, which is more open to market signals with a strong component of decoupled payments and ecological payments. Support for rural development (support for mechanisation or production in disadvantaged areas) has existed in parallel with the various models, with a significant weight in Member States such as Portugal. • The current CAP model is being extended into the future, according to the Commission's proposal. What is your view on the possible evolution or maintenance of this model? • In particular, what do you think is the best way forward: to focus on incentives or regulation (e.g. environment, food safety, etc.)? • Is there a case for complementary EU regulation or national legislation to address issues such as land ownership by thirdcountry entities (in particular multinationals or investment funds) or migration flows? Should critical thresholds be defined, for example? • How can agricultural policies be coordinated with infrastructure investment policies in rural areas? 2 Please see review note on the Bruegel (Brussels European and Global Economic Laboratory) report Bigger, better funded and focused on public goods – How to revamp the European Union budget (July 2025), in the Reviews section of this issue of Cultivar. 3 Article 2 of the proposal for a Regulation laying down the conditions for the implementation of Union support under the common agricultural policy for the period 2028 to 2034, COM(2025) 560 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/PT/TXT/?uri=celex%3A52025PC0560 (p.18), and Article 3(1)(d) of the proposal for a Regulation establishing the European Fund (p.38)
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