Summaries of EU legislation
Agriculture

The need to increase food production and restructure agriculture in the early years of European integration following the Second World War led to the common agricultural policy (CAP).
Ensuring a stable supply of affordable and quality food for the EU's half a billion citizens, as well as a substantial volume of exports, it also plays a crucial role in safeguarding the future of rural communities, villages and towns, biodiversity, the landscape and soil quality.
Radically reshaped in 2013 in order to be fairer, greener, more efficient and more innovative, the CAP remains of key importance, contributing to more sustainable and inclusive growth, key objectives of the EU's 2020 Strategy.
- Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)
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Funding & support schemes
- Agriculture in the EU — financing, managing and monitoring rules
- The common organisation of agricultural markets in the EU
- Rules for direct EU payments to farmers
- Promotion of EU farm products
- Farmers in the Aegean islands - EU support
- European Union strategy for forests and the forest-based sector
- European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development
- EU support for farmers in the outermost regions
- EU system to identify certain beneficiaries of transactions financed by the EAGGF Guarantee Section
- Aids and refunds related to the common organisation of markets in agricultural products
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Agricultural products
- Aromatised wine products
- Tariffs on grain imports
- Specific rules on organic production, labelling and control
- Rules on marketing standards for eggs
- Production and labelling of organic products (until 2021)
- Protection of geographical indications — Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement
- Olive oil analysis
- ‘Farm to fork’ strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally friendly food system
- Import duties in the poultry meat and egg sectors
- Food quality certification schemes
- EU rules on producing and labelling organic products (from 2022)
- EU rules for the marketing of fruit plants
- EU rules on establishing the common catalogue of agricultural plants and species
- EU-Iceland agreement on the protection of geographical indications for agricultural products and foodstuffs
- EU-China agreement on protection of geographical indications
- Enhancing quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs
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Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) – rules & consumers protection
- Authorisation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the EU
- Unauthorised genetically modified rice in rice products from China — emergency measures
- Regulating GM crops: EU countries’ rights
- Genetically modified organisms — unique identifiers
- Genetically modified organisms — traceability and labelling
- Genetically modified food & feed
- Exports of genetically modified organisms to non-EU countries
- EU country flexibility in genetically modified organism cultivation
- Contained use of genetically modified microorganisms
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Pesticides & fertilisers
- Fighting water pollution from agricultural nitrates
- Using sewage sludge in farming
- Supplementary protection certificates for medicines and plant protection products
- Safe insect repellents, disinfectants and other industrial chemicals (biocides) in the EU
- Safe and effective fertilisers on the EU market (from 2022)
- Safe and effective fertilisers on the EU market
- Pesticide safety on the EU market
- Pesticide residues in food and animal feed
- Pesticides in the EU — ensuring their sustainable use
- Protecting health and the environment from persistent organic pollutants
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Interaction with other policies: competition & trade
- Application of certain EU competition rules to agricultural products
- WTO: agreement on trade-related aspects of intellectual property
- WTO: agreement on trade in goods
- WTO agreement
- Small-scale (de minimis) aid for farming
- State aid — agricultural, forestry, fishery and aquaculture sectors
- Protection of geographical indications — Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement
- Preferential European Union import tariffs for developing countries
- EU-Iceland agreement on the protection of geographical indications for agricultural products and foodstuffs
- EU-China agreement on protection of geographical indications
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European statistics
- Agricultural production — crop statistics
- Statistics — livestock and meat under the common agricultural policy
- Statistical surveys of dairy products
- Pesticide statistics production
- Production of EU statistics for permanent crops
- Farm incomes and operations - EU statistics
- EU integrated farm statistics
- Economic accounts for agriculture
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Archived summaries
- 2000-06: support for rural development within the framework of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF)
- A budget for Europe (2014-2020)
- A simplified CAP for Europe
- Access for rural areas to ICTs
- Additional levy in the milk and milk products sector (milk quotas)
- Action plan for organic food and farming
- Bananas
- Beef and veal
- Bulgaria
- Cohesion Fund (2007-2013)
- Common organisation of agricultural markets
- Common organisation of sheepmeat and goatmeat markets
- Common organisation of the fruit and vegetable markets
- Common organisation of the market in cereals
- Common organisation of the market in milk and milk products
- Common organisation of the market in olive oil and table olives
- Common organisation of the market in processed fruit and vegetables
- Common organisation of the sugar market
- Common organization of the market in fruit and vegetables - (reform 2007)
- Conservation, characterisation, collection and utilisation of genetic resources in agriculture
- Cotton
- Croatia – Agriculture, fisheries and food safety
- Cyprus
- Dried fodder
- Eggs
- Employment in rural areas: closing the jobs gap
- Estonia
- Ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin
- EU strategy for biofuels
- European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD)
- European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) (2007-2013)
- European Union strategic guidelines for rural development
- Geographical origin of spirit drinks
- Hops
- Hungary
- Flax and hemp grown for fibre
- Green Paper on agricultural product quality
- Iceland - Agriculture, fisheries and food safety
- Improving communication on agricultural product quality
- Information and promotion actions for agricultural products
- Information measures relating to the common agricultural policy
- Health Check of the CAP reform
- General provisions ERDF - ESF - Cohesion Fund (2007-2013)
- Financing the common agricultural policy
- Geographical Indications and Designations of Origin
- Malta
- Interinstitutional Agreement on cooperation in budgetary matters
- Latvia
- Mediterranean package
- Lithuania
- Live plants and floricultural products
- Poland
- Recovery and information system for money wrongly paid in connection with the financing of the common agricultural policy
- Pollutant gases of wheeled agricultural or forestry tractors
- Ovalbumin and laktalbumin
- Poultrymeat
- Pre-accession agricultural instrument (SAPARD)
- Reform of the common agricultural policy (CAP)
- Products not covered by a specific CMO
- Programme LIFE+
- Pigmeat
- Rules for the application of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Cohesion Fund (2007-2013)
- Rice
- Romania
- Risk and crisis management in agriculture
- Wine
- The CAP towards 2020
- Thematic strategy for soil protection
- Tobacco
- Towards a new financial framework 2007-2013
- State aid in the agriculture sector
- The Czech Republic
- Scrutiny of expenditure under the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF)
- Towards a sustainable wine sector
- Seeds
- Traditional specialities guaranteed
- Silkworms
- Strategy for sustainable development
- Simplification and better regulation for the common agricultural policy
- Single Farm Payment
- The European Social Fund (2007-2013)
- Sixth Environment Action Programme
- Turkey - Agriculture, fisheries and food safety
- The financing of the common agricultural policy (CAP)
- The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia – Agriculture, fisheries and food safety
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- The future of organic farming in the European Union
- The Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA)
- Specific measures for the outermost regions
- Specific measures in favour of the smaller Aegean islands