The new delivery model of the Common Agricultural Policy after 2020 - challenges for Poland

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Union is the subject of the consecutive reform. The proposal of the CAP after 2020 has been presented in the European Commission’s proposal on 1 June 2018, which defines the proposed forms and scope of the EU agriculture support after 2020. The innovative solutions suggested by the European Commission impose many new obligations on Member States. However, they are associated with significant challenges resulting both from the need to define national strategies as well as obligations to implement policy instruments and measure policy implementation effects. The main objective of this study is to discuss the key implications for Poland resulting from the new delivery model of CAP after 2020 proposed by the EU Commission and to identify the most important “challenges” for policy makers and the entire agricultural sector. In the new perspective of the CAP, no radical changes in the very essence of the Common Agricultural Policy of the EU are foreseen. The basic objectives of the CAP still include supporting agricultural incomes, improving the competitiveness of the EU agriculture or supporting rural development. The main distinguishing feature of the new CAP model, as compared to the existing one, is the fact that individual Member States have a large degree of freedom inshaping national policy in relation to agriculture and rural areas, but they have the obligation to determine measurable effects and selection of instruments, while maintaining the Community nature of the CAP. For Poland, as well as for all Member States, the key challenge is the objective identification of needs of the agriculture and rural areas, and then to select indicators and instruments to effectively achieve the objectives of the CAP. One of the main challenges for Poland is also to include in the strategic plans objectives related to environmental and climate policy, and improvement of the position of farmers in the food supply chain. Another issue that raises the discussion is the policy of supporting agriculture in the form of direct payments and the issue of inequalities in their distribution.