The German Agricultural Sector under the Impact of the CAP Reform: Objectives of the National Strategic Plan

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) represents the core of EU strategy to develop the rural sector and to support the European farmers. This long reformed policy has shifted over the years to better adapt to undergoing challenges and new priorities of EU’s rural space, evolving from granting direct support for production to a policy that encourages the European farmers to adopt climate friendly agricultural policies. After a brief review of the stages completed by the last reform of the CAP, this article sets out to analyse the objectives of the recently-adopted CAP, the innovative elements introduced, as well as the way in which the new approach will contribute to the achievement of the environmental protection and climate change goals, using as an example a relevant case study – the impact of these reforms and new regulations in Germany. In the second part of the analysis, we will highlight the potential implications of the CAP green architecture on the German agricultural sector, given the particularities of the federal structure and pointing out at the same time several relevant indicators – the evolution of direct payments (DP), of eco-schemes and of market measures.