The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform package for 2014-2020 has been finalised and Member States are using 2014 as a transitional year as they prepare to introduce new Basic Payment Schemes and new Rural Development Programmes.
This paper updates the November 2013 version which was prepared whilst many issues were still the subject of consultation. It sets out the main implementation decisions of the four countries of the UK, and also of neighbouring Member State Ireland, in relation to the new reform package. The new agreement allows Member States and their devolved administrations a great deal of flexibility regarding how they implement the provisions. This allows them to tailor a CAP package to suit their particular farming systems and rural development priorities. As a result, the packages agreed across the UK administrations, and in Ireland, differ considerably with few common themes, despite the intra-UK and international (Irish/UK) shared borders.
This paper seeks to highlight where the approaches have diverged and where they are consistent and provides an overview of stakeholder reactions to CAP reform 2014-2020. It also considers the possible trajectory of future CAP reform and briefly describes past reforms to put the new agreement in context.
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Published: 31 October 2014