The EU Common Agricultural Policy: towards a more sustainable agriculture?

This chapter critically analyses the role and impact of EU legislation and the successive CAP reforms on agriculture and environmental protection. The EU relies on a wide range of policy measures (including complementary mandatory requirements and voluntary schemes) applicable at different levels (local, regional and national), which aim at providing the adequate conditions to enable a more coherent and holistic approach geared towards delivering sustainable intensification and sustainable agriculture. The extent to which these measures prove efficient and effective in expanding environmentally-friendly farming practices, decisively contributing to the future of rural environment and achieving a greener agriculture is assessed by focussing on their implementation in England