EU Sets New Sustainable Agricultural Policies

The EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) establishes standards and subsidies for all of EU farmers and represents 40% of the EU budget. After three years of negotiations and a three day marathon of talks EU announced that for the first time CAP payments to EU members will be conditioned on specific environmental practices. 30% of direct payments will be linked to three sustainable practices: crop diversification, maintaining permanent grassland and conserving up to 7% areas of ecological interest such as wetlands and woods. After a transition period greening requirements become compulsory. Offenders will lose up to 125% of their EU subsidies. Environmentalists were not all pleased by the agreement which they say was weakened by exempting 35.5% of farmland from the greening requirement and the deletion of water quality and pesticide provisions.