The 2013 reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) brought about a fundamental change to the architecture of the CAP, with the introduction of payments for implementing compulsory ‘green’ measures under Pillar 1, previously the domain solely of ‘compensatory’ income support payments. The rationale behind the introduction of these green measures was to provide a substantial funding resource (30 per cent of the direct payments budget, approximately €12 billion per annum) to support improved environmental management on all agricultural land in the EU-28.
The purpose of this report is to consider some of the lessons that can be learned from the introduction of green payments into Pillar 1 of the CAP in the 2013 reform. It reviews the original rationale for greening Pillar 1 and the many alterations made to the proposals during the negotiation process. It then provides an overview of the potential environmental impacts of these measures and highlights some of the challenges of determining their environmental additionality. Finally, it offers some preliminary thoughts on some possible future options for greening, with a focus on alternative means of delivering improved environmental management across the farmed countryside in the EU-28, considering the environmental, administrative and political pros and cons of each option.