CAP after 2013 – evaluation and modification proposals

Abstract

In October 2011 the European Commission presented a legislative package, which, after possible adoption by the European Parliament and the Council, will implement the new rules of the Common Agricultural Policy, beginning from January 1, 2014. In its assumptions the legislative package was meant to be an answer to the main objectives and challenges facing the CAP. According to the European Commission, its proposals also constitute a significant step towards the simplification, greater flexibility and efficiency of the CAP. This study attempts to estimate the EC proposals relating to the reform of the CAP after 2013 and its effects for Polish and European agriculture. Many new solutions such as: a ”new” basic payment system, greening as an obligatory element of direct payments or a simplified small farmers assistance scheme, are accompanied by the practically unchanged method of distribution of funds among the member-states, which preserves glaring disparities in the average rates of direct payments. Therefore, the further part of the study indicates the possibilities of modification of the EC proposal towards a more equitable CAP.