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EU agricultural policy at a glance: reforms in focus until 2028!
Professor Sebastian Lakner from the University of Rostock publishes a book on EU agricultural policy that makes complex reforms understandable.
EU agricultural policy at a glance: reforms in focus until 2028!
The European Union's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is facing profound changes. From 2028, the EU Commission is planning a comprehensive reform of its agricultural policy and the associated financing. In this context, Sebastian Lakner, agricultural economist and professor at the University of Rostock, has published a new book to explain the complex structures of EU agricultural policy in an understandable way. The work, entitled “The EU’s Common Agricultural Policy – Past, Reforms and Present”, will be published by Springer-Verlag in September 2025. Loud uni-rostock.de The book aims to explain the development of agricultural policy since 1950 and to analyze it in the context of global political changes after the Second World War.
In Germany, around 875,900 people are employed in agriculture. This sector includes approximately 255,000 holdings cultivating approximately 16 million hectares, which represents more than 50% of the country's area. Every year around 7.2 billion euros of taxpayers' money flow to support the CAP. Recent protests in 2024 highlighted the discontent within agriculture, which Lakner sees as an indication of the need for reform. He notes that reform debates are often only noticed in specialist circles.
Changes in agricultural policy
The CAP has undergone a total of six significant reforms since its introduction in 1962. The latest major changes include the 2013 and 2021 reforms, which affect the 2014-2020 and 2023-2027 funding periods. The most recent conversion came into force in January 2023. The legal basis of the CAP is based on the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), in particular Articles 38 to 44. Numerous regulations have been adopted, including Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, which regulates the support of the CAP strategic plans, and Regulation (EU) 2021/2116, which deals with financing and management. These reforms are aimed not only at economic, but also at social and environmental sustainability in agriculture, such as europarl.europa.eu explained in detail.
The reform agenda proposes to pursue ten specific goals for the period 2023-2027. This includes the pursuit of fair incomes, competitiveness, climate protection, environmental protection, as well as the promotion of biological diversity and knowledge. In order to implement the CAP more effectively, national strategic plans have been introduced, allowing Member States to develop their own approaches to implementing agricultural strategies.
Lakner's forthcoming book provides a detailed overview of the CAP policy framework and its impact on agriculture. It is designed as a reference work for students, scientists and employees in associations and NGOs and will be available in print as well as in PDF and ePub formats for around EUR 40. Lakner wrote the book to create a comprehensive work for understanding agricultural policy, which also points to the upcoming reforms.