Month: January 2025

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Exemptions to the Enhanced Conditionality of the Common Agricultural Policy: Exercised, Exploited or Eschewed?

We are pleased to welcome this guest post by Pieter Zwaan. Dr. Pieter Zwaan is a Senior Research Fellow at the EU & Global Affairs Unit of the Clingendael Institute and an Assistant Professor Public Administration at the Radboud University. He is specialised in EU agriculture and food policies.

The cross-compliance regime of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) specifies several conditionality rules that farmers must follow to be eligible to receive EU funding, including the so-called direct (or basic income support) payments. These payments account for 20-25% of the total EU budget. The conditionality rules include so-called Statutory Management Requirements (SMRs), based on EU legislation (e.g.… Read the rest

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Rise of the far right in the EU

All with an interest in EU policymaking must take note of current developments in Austria where the leader of the far-right Freedom Party FPÖ Herbert Kickl was given the task of forming a new government by the Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen on Monday last. This followed the breakdown of government negotiations between the conservative, liberal and centre-left parties and the resignation of the former leader of the conservative ÖVP Karl Nehammer at the weekend.

Kickl is no stranger to the Austrian government. He previously served as Interior Minister between 2017 and 2019 when the Freedom Party was the junior party in a coalition with the ÖVP led by Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.… Read the rest

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Limited impact of Mercosur Partnership Agreement on the EU beef market

The EU reached a negotiated agreement on the final texts of what is now called the EU-Mercosur Partnership Agreement on 6 December last (for details see this Commission web page). They include the texts agreed in June 2019, plus the political and cooperation components of the deal agreed in June 2020, as well as additional elements resulting from negotiations between March 2023 and December 2024.

The agreed texts have led to major upheavals within the EU. Several Member States, including France, Ireland, Austria and Poland, have come out to oppose ratification of the agreement over concerns about the deal’s potential impact on both European agriculture and the Amazon rainforest.… Read the rest