Environmental Effectiveness of Greening Measures under the Common Agricultural Policy of European Union

Abstract

The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of greening measures in the European Union during the period of 2014-2020. Studies carried out in various EU Member States by the European Court of Auditors and other independent authors estimated changes in farming practices as a result of greening over the period of 2014-2020 to be between 2% and5% of the EU’s agricultural area. The widest audit of greening performed by the European Court of Auditors in 2017 shows that the greening process induced changes of approximate 5% were divided as follows: 1.8% for crop diversification, 2.4% for ecological area and 1.5% for permanent grassland. Contrary to the low efficiency of greening, the payments made were on an average €80 per hectare, while the costs for its implementation are on an average €25-30 per hectare. Although the payments far exceed the costs incurred, little benefits were achieved on improved soil quality, biodiversity conservation and a reduction in Greenhouse Gases (GHG) by 2% only at EU level. Had the European Commission’s original and more ambitious proposal been adopted, GHG reductions would have reached 5% threshold level. Conclusively, greening is a complex measure having significantly low effectiveness in context of the degree of environmental protection offered by it.