The consultation for the 2020 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) will be launched in Brussels this Thursday by EU Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan.

The Commissioner has already said when speaking to Council last week that it would run for 12 weeks with a stakeholder event to wrap the process up in the late spring or early summer.

The Commission will then reflect on the consultation over the summer and Hogan is committed to bringing a “communication”, the Brussels equivalent of a white paper, before the end of the year.

The Commissioner has put down several markers about how he envisages the next CAP will look. He has lamented the toolbox available to tackle issues like the dairy crisis and recognises, like many farmers, that the current CAP is unduly complex.

Simplification has become an established word in any debate on CAP reform. Similarly, Hogan recognises that the next CAP will have a stronger environmental influence and notably the Environment and Climate Commissioners were centre stage in the Agriculture Outlook Conference at the start of December.

Battleground

The conflict between the environment-driven NGOs and agricultural production will be the battleground of this CAP reform.

It is clear that there will be a stronger environmental dimension next time round.

There is general dissatisfaction with the greening element in the present CAP, from everyone’s perspective, so it will definitely be addressed.

However, the Commissioner’s mantra that farmers are the boots on the ground for delivery of environmental schemes suggests that farming will remain central to the next CAP – if he has his way.

Listen to an interview with Commissioner Hogan at the Navigating Global Trade Conference in our podcast below:

Listen to "Phil Hogan on Brexit, trade and the future of the CAP" on Spreaker.