The seminar will focus on the following five topics. We invite papers that address any of them. For further illustration, a number of exemplary sub-themes are listed for each of the five topics.

1. European agricultural policies under decoupling

• Theoretical analysis and modelling of CAP reform  and national options
• Consistency of the current CAP decoupling  with the  international commitments
• Decoupling in specific Common Market Organisations (CMOs)
• Cross compliance, environmental sustainability and measures fostering product quality
• Modulation and relationship between first and second pillar
• Re-nationalisation of CAP: risks and/or opportunities

2.  Member State choices for  implementing CAP reform

• Single Farm Payment (SFP) scheme: national implementation in the old and new member states
• Application of cross compliance in single members states
• Specific progress and difficulties of CAP implementation in new member states
• Comparative analysis of CAP reform implementation
• Potential implications on farmers competition and equal treatment

3.  Effectiveness and efficiency of the  CAP decoupling: ex post analysis 

• Actual expenditure for Single Farm Payments and its distribution
• Farmers’ behavior and  economic performance  under  the SFP
• Farm incomes and distributive implications of the Single Farm Payment
• SFP impact on markets equilibria and agro-industry performance
• CAP- first pillar reform and rural economy development

4.  Government and governance of the reformed CAP

• Institutional settings  and governance models  induced by CAP reform
• The domestic bargaining: stakeholders’ positions and governments’ concerns
• Fischler reform negotiations, member states positions and strategic alliances
• The political economy of the implementation choices

5.  Future CAP reform decisions: main issues and expected scenarios

• Health check, policy simplification and key issues in the CAP reform agenda
• Path dependency of  national choices and constraints for further CAP reforms
• Budgetary and international pressures for further reforms
• Generalization of the regionalization scheme and removal of partial decoupling options
• Perspectives modes and matters for improving  cross compliance
• Constraints and opportunities for strengthening rural development policies