The Agri-Environmental Policy of the European Union

Integrating environmental aims in the agricultural policy of the European Union was a main aim of the 1992 CAP-reform. This book presents a study of the socio-economic framing conditions as well as the attitudes and orientations within the agricultural population towards the European agri-environmental policy. It is based on a research project in three member countries, France, Germany, and Portugal, where more than 600 farmers have been interviewed. The results indicate that a change towards more ecologically sustainable forms of agricultural production requires much broader political and social support to grow beyond the dimensions of a marginal green subsector of agriculture.