Agriculture and EU Environmental Law

The European Community's Common Agricultural Policy has traditionally been heavily influenced by concern to maximise agricultural production and to protect farm incomes. Yet, one of the most important developments within European Community law in recent years has been the development of the European Community's environmental policy. Today this has resulted in a European Union treaty obligation requiring the Community to integrate environmental protection concerns into other policy areas, such as the Common Agricultural Policy (the 'CAP'). The development of this commitment has also been paralleled by increased recognition of the environmental effects of intensive agriculture. The European Community has therefore adopted a range of measures that seek to promote environmental protection considerations within agriculture. However, the evolution of these measures has only been the subject of limited review.This book critically examines the development and current structure of European Union agri-environmental measures at a substantive level. The measures are examined in an integrated manner showing how they interrelate, as a package of measures linking different aspects of European Community agricultural law and policy. The volume examines both the legislation adopted at European Community level and also national measures taken to adopt that legislation. Where appropriate, comparisons are drawn between the manner in which European Community legislation has been implemented among various Member States. The work critically assesses European Community and national measures, in the light of other policy pressures such as the protection of agricultural incomes and the political pressures exerted by the agricultural sector within the national legal systems of individual Member States.This title will be a valuable resource for academics researching and practitioners working in the areas of European environmental and agricultural law.