Listen "S4 Ep14: EU budget: Scope to reform Common Agricultural Policy"
Episode Synopsis
Ongoing negotiations over the next multiannual financial framework represent an opportunity for the EU to support its new priorities, such as increased investment in border control and defence.
However, new investment necessitates either an expansion in the size of the budget or cuts to other sectors – each a difficult sell to different Member States. Brexit compounds the problem of finding funds for the seven-year framework, which will run from 2021-27.
The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) accounts for a sizeable portion of the current budget, and Bruegel director Guntram Wolff here elaborates on the possibility of freeing up more space in the budget by freezing funding for CAP – either in real or nominal terms – based on a research paper he has co-authored with Bruegel senior fellow Zsolt Darvas.
Joining the conversation in this episode of ‘The Sound of Economics’ is Lars Hoelgaard, former deputy director general at the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, who explores specific options for reforming the CAP.
However, new investment necessitates either an expansion in the size of the budget or cuts to other sectors – each a difficult sell to different Member States. Brexit compounds the problem of finding funds for the seven-year framework, which will run from 2021-27.
The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) accounts for a sizeable portion of the current budget, and Bruegel director Guntram Wolff here elaborates on the possibility of freeing up more space in the budget by freezing funding for CAP – either in real or nominal terms – based on a research paper he has co-authored with Bruegel senior fellow Zsolt Darvas.
Joining the conversation in this episode of ‘The Sound of Economics’ is Lars Hoelgaard, former deputy director general at the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, who explores specific options for reforming the CAP.
More episodes of the podcast The Sound of Economics
Understanding money in the EU
12/11/2025
Paradoxical EU-China climate relations
29/10/2025
What are governments buying?
22/10/2025
Climate, data and complacency
15/10/2025
What should Europe pay for
01/10/2025
China’s race to electrification
25/09/2025
EU foreign direct investment, explained
17/09/2025
ZARZA We are Zarza, the prestigious firm behind major projects in information technology.