Within the framework imposed at European Union level, Member States have taken advantage of the considerable discretion which they are accorded when implementing coexistence measures at national level. This divergence is examined by reference to four Member States: France, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom. While there may be important similarities in approach (for example, in all four Member States the choice has been taken to regulate by legislative means), there are also notable differences. In France, the emphasis is on freedom of cropping, with the result that actions seeking to impose GM-free zones, whether initiated by organic producers or local authorities, have met with little success. In Italy, until recently, there has been a legislative impasse by reason of a battle for competence between the state and the regions. In Spain, a draft Royal Decree has been promulgated, but it remains to be implemented, and several of its measures have already proved controversial. In the United Kingdom, the devolved administrations of Scotland and Wales have shown marked hostility to GMOs, while, more generally, the slow pace of legislative progress may be attributed to the absence of immediate intent to proceed to commercialization of GM crops.
Climate change has been identified as a new challenge for EU agricultural policy which must be addressed as a matter of priority. The importance of climate-friendly agricultural practices in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions already receives some recognition under the current legislative framework; and the proposed regulations for the period 2014–2020, issued in October 2011, indicate that this importance will be considerably enhanced. Such practices will be examined with specific reference to: cross-compliance obligations attached to direct payments to farmers (under Pillar I of the CAP); more targeted rural development measures (under Pillar II of the CAP); and sustainability criteria in respect of feedstock for biofuels and bioliquids, as laid down by the Renewable Energy Directive. In addition, the article will consider two broader issues which each present an obstacle to any regulation in this area. The first issue is the inherent difficulty in creating a regime that is sensitive to the complexities and uncertainties which pervade the climate change debate, yet, at the same time, can be effective in practice. A second issue is the further inherent difficulty of finding in this context the appropriate balance between measures implemented under respectively Pillar I and Pillar II of the CAP, both Pillars having their apparent strengths and weaknesses.
This chapter discusses: (1) the development of multifunctional agriculture in the European Community prior to the Agenda 2000 reforms; (2) the commencement of the Agenda 2000 reforms, including the pressures that have promoted changes in policy; (3) the multifunctional elements of the measures agreed both at the Special Berlin European Council of 24 and 25 March 1999 and in the period prior to the Mid-term Review of the Common Agricultural Policy, issued in July 2002; (4) the impact of the Mid-term Review; and (5) specific World Trade Organization implications.
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