The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)¹, launched in 1962, is one of the EU’s foundational policies and represents a long-standing partnership between European society and its farmers. Its central objective is to ensure a stable supply of affordable, safe, and high-quality food, while supporting farm incomes, sustainable land management, and the economic and social vitality of rural areas across the EU.

Its objectives are:

• ensuring a fair income for farmers;
• increasing competitiveness;
• improving the position of farmers in the food chain;
• climate change action;
• environmental care;
• preserving landscapes and biodiversity;
• supporting generational renewal;
• vibrant rural areas;
• protecting food and health quality;
• fostering knowledge and innovation.

The CAP is managed and financed at the EU level through two main funds, with a total budget of €387 billion for the 2021–2027 programming period. The European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF)² provides €291.1 billion, primarily financing direct income support and market intervention measures. Income support remains a core pillar of the CAP, reflecting the structural reality that farmers’ incomes are, on average, around 40% lower than those in non-agricultural sectors. Complementing this, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD)³ allocates €95.5 billion to rural development programmes, supporting competitiveness, environmental protection, climate action, and balanced territorial development. Under the current reform cycle, the CAP is explicitly aligned with the European Green Deal⁴ and the Farm to Fork Strategy⁵, with increased emphasis on climate mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity protection, and sustainable resource use. A key delivery mechanism is conditionality, which links financial support to mandatory requirements related to environmental protection, food safety, plant health, animal health, and animal welfare.