Overview of the current legal framework of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) at EU and national level

Following the basic reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in late 2013 the EU has enacted basic regulations in six areas - Funds, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), oversight controls, direct payments, common market organization, and multiannual financial framework. The acts were gradually supplemented by appiopriate implementing regulations and by delegated acts. In the meantime these have been already modified partially. Their national implementation essentially hinges on three acts and related implementing regulations for direct payments, cross compliance and oversight controls. The article follows from the author's earlier cornerstone report on EU agricultural reform decisions [1]. The article gives a textual, graphic-schematic and tabular overview of the diverse and comprehensive legal regulations (spanning more than 1,000 pages) at both the EU and Member State level. Also included is the relevant legal basis of the formerly separate Common Market Organization for Sugar (CMO). There also follows an update of a related table by the author (Overview of New Regulations of the EU CAP Reform), published in the handbook, Bartens Sugar Economy - Europe 2016 [2].