The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is the agricultural policy of the European Union. It implements a system of agricultural subsidies and other programmes. It was introduced in 1962 and has since then underwent several changes to reduce the EEC budget cost and consider rural development in its aims. It has however, been criticised on the grounds of its cost, its environmental, and humanitarian effects.
Franz Fischler is an Austrian politician from the Christian-conservative People's Party (ÖVP). He was the European Union's Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries (1995–2004). He also was President of the European Forum Alpbach.
The European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) consumes a large part of the general budget of the European Union. It finances direct payments to farmers under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), as well as measures to regulate the common markets such as intervention and export refunds under both the CAP and the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).
The Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI) is a committee of the European Parliament.
Directorate-General for Environment is a Directorate-General of the European Commission, responsible for the Environmental policy of the European Union. In 2010 "relevant [climate change] activities in DG Environment" were moved to the new DG Climate Action. At the same time the DG Energy (ENER) was also established. The 2022 commissioner was Virginijus Sinkevičius.
The Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries is a Directorate-General of the European Commission, responsible for the policy area of fisheries, the Law of the Sea and Maritime Affairs of the European Union. The current director-general is Charlina Vitcheva.
The Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs is a Directorate-General of the European Commission. The DG ECFIN is located in Brussels, Belgium, and Luxembourg. Its main responsibility is to encourage the development of Economic and Monetary Union both inside and outside the European Union, by advancing economic policy coordination, conducting economic surveillance and providing policy assessment and advice.
The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) is a government department in the Northern Ireland Executive, the devolved administration for Northern Ireland. The minister with overall responsibility for the department is the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs. The department was called the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development between 1999 and 2016. The Minister of Agriculture previously existed in the Government of Northern Ireland (1921–1972), where the department was known as the Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland or the Ministry of Agriculture. The current Permanent Secretary is Denis McMahon.
The Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations is a Directorate-General of the European Commission. The body is responsible for the enlargement process of the European Union and for the European Neighbourhood Policy. The European Union over the years has expanded to 27 members from the first six Member States who signed the Treaty of Rome.
The Directorate-General for Trade is a Directorate-General of the European Commission. The European Commission's Directorate- General for Trade develops and implements the EU's trade policy in order to help secure prosperity, solidarity and security in Europe and around the globe. It covers a wide area from manufactured goods to services, intellectual property and investment.
The Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries is a member of the European Commission. The current Commissioner is Virginijus Sinkevičius, who also serves as EU Commissioner for the Environment.
The Commissioner for Agriculture is a member of the European Commission. The post is currently held by Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski. The post is in charge of rural issues including most notably the controversial Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) which represents 44% of the EU budget. They also participate in meetings of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council (Agrifish) configuration of the Council of the European Union.
The European External Action Service (EEAS) is the diplomatic service and combined foreign and defence ministry of the European Union (EU). The EEAS is led by the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (HR/VP), who is also President of the Foreign Affairs Council and vice-president of the European Commission, and carries out the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), including the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP).
The Scottish Government Rural Affairs, Environment and Services Directorates were a group of civil service Directorates in the Scottish Government until a December 2010 re-organisation.
An agricultural attaché is a diplomat who collects, analyzes, and acts on information on agriculture, agribusiness, food, and other related spheres in a foreign country or countries. Agricultural attachés may be directly employed by the sending country's agriculture ministry, or they may be employed by the foreign ministry. Typical activities of an agricultural attaché include reporting on crop conditions, food availability, domestic agricultural policy and the foreign trade outlook in agricultural commodities; negotiating food aid agreements and agricultural credit lines; implementing agricultural technical assistance programs; facilitating professional contacts, exchanges, and technology transfer; assisting in negotiating bilateral and multilateral trade agreements; and promoting the exports of agricultural and food products. In many cases, agricultural attachés may also bear responsibility for issues related to the environment, food security, food safety, fisheries, forestry, and indeed anything related to rural areas and the rural economy.
The Service for Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI) is a department (Directorate-General) of the European Commission set up in response to the establishment of the European External Action Service (EEAS). The EEAS merged the Commission's Directorate-General for External Relations (and various other departments) with its counterparts in the Council of Ministers. The responsible Commissioner for the service is the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell Fontelles in his role as Commission Vice-President. The current Head of Service is Peter M. Wagner.
The Agriculture and Fisheries Council (AGRIFISH) is one of the configurations of the Council of the European Union and is composed of the agriculture and fisheries ministers of the 27 European Union member states. Its competencies include the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), among others.
The Juncker Commission was the European Commission in office from 1 November 2014 to 30 November 2019. Its president was Jean-Claude Juncker, who presided over 27 other commissioners. In July 2014, Juncker was officially elected to succeed José Manuel Barroso, who completed his second five-year term in that year.
María Angeles Benítez Salas is a Spanish lawyer and high-ranking official of the European Commission. She has served as Deputy Director-General of the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development from 2016 to 2021 and as acting Director-General in 2020. As such she was the top European civil servant in charge of European agricultural and rural development policy. In 2021 she became the head of the Representation of the European Commission in Spain.
